The Importance of Language

As a writer, Solnit sees the struggle of feminism focused not just on changes in legislation, the winning of particular cases, or improvements in socioeconomic arrangements, for languages, stories, and the ability to express oneself are just important to being human – both in the sense that they can be used to free people and expand their understanding, and that their perversions can be used to oppress and discriminate against people. Solnit’s focus on how literary and artistic works can have liberatory and political meanings enables her to show how novels, films, and even governmental health guidelines can give us significant messages regarding the perception and treatment of women, whether for the better or the worse.

Perhaps the clearest example of Solnit’s focus on the importance of clear language for a liberatory struggled would be “The Case of the Missing Perpetrator,” which ends: “I...