Rewriting Patriarchy: A Feminist Reading of Grace Paley's “A Conversation with My Father”

Abstract

This paper undertakes a feminist reading of Grace Paley’s “A Conversation with My Father”, positioning her work within the discourse of feminist theory as articulated by Hélène Cixous and Luce Irigaray. Engaging with the notion of “feminine writing” and the patriarchal underpinnings of language, this analysis reveals how Paley’s narrative techniques challenge fixed literary conventions and resist the rigidity of traditional storytelling. Through a fragmented and open-ended narrative structure, Paley subtly critiques her father’s demand for a typological and linear story, a preference that reflects the normative expectations of patriarchal literature. By foregrounding the body and privileging multiplicity, Paley echoes Cixous’ and Irigaray’s call for a new mode of representation, one that transcends the limits imposed by phallogocentric discourse. This paper explores how “A Conversation with My Father” serves as both an artistic and theoretical counterpoint to the masculine literary canon, advocating for a narrative form that embodies the fluidity, change, and diversity intrinsic to the feminine experience. In doing so, Paley’s work affirms the necessity of alternative voices in literature, voices that challenge the essentialist representations perpetuated by patriarchal modes of thinking.