Feminist literary interpretation

The principles of Feminism applied to Literature and Literary interpretation. A basic part of Literary theory.

A feminist literary interpretation is largely focused on the roles that women and gender play in a work of literature. If women are portrayed as weak, inferior, or dependent, the work will likely be criticized for these traits. Similarly, a feminist interpretation will be likely to praise a work which shows women as independent, intelligent, strong, and perhaps even superior to men.

Questions that a feminist literary interpretation might attempt to answer:

Does the work challenge or comply with the gender status quo?
Do women play a major role in the work, or are they secondary to male characters?
How do characters overcome (or fail to overcome) their traditional gender roles?
How might the work differ, if it were written from an author of the opposite gender?
Is there a difference between male and female writing?

Examples of feminist literary interpretation:

Good works for feminist literary interpretation:

Anything by Margaret Atwood.
Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse[?]