In the last two chapters, give an example of feminist criticism (not theory). In other words, an example that disputes a hegemony.

In the last section of The Liar’s Club, Mary Karr tells of her return to Texas. Having been away from home, she has gained perspective on her complicated childhood but is uncertain about the emotions this return will stir up. Because both her parents had abused her, as well as ignored others’ abuse, she believes that it is important to learn their reasons for that behavior and hopes that she can forgive them and move forward.
Karr has spoken of self-identifying as a feminist since she was 12, in part because she saw her mother as a working person and how it shaped her self-imposed requirement to write truthfully. Her growth into a strong, self-sufficient person is one theme that permeates the book. A feminist perspective can be applied to her success in learning to stand on her own and create a meaningful life—however imperfect. The compassion she shows for her parents is part of the maturity she gained. Karr’s understanding of the overreaching power of social convention—the hegemony of patriarchy—is one vehicle for her growth.
In the interactions with her mother, Karr finally learns some long-hidden secrets that help her understand her mother’s illnesses and related abusive treatment of her children. Earlier in life, her mother, Charlie, had another family, but the father of those two children had taken them from their home without telling her that they were leaving or where they were going. Mary finally learns that Charlie had actually located them and tried, off and on, to get them back, before admitting defeat. Charlie’s tormented past provides, for Mary, an explanation of her ongoing addictions and dysfunctional behaviors.
Looking at her mother as an individual and locating her mother’s predicament within the structures of patriarchal society are part of what allowed Karr to move past the nightmares of that abusive past. At the same time, Mary is a victim of childhood abuse—including sexual abuse by one of her mother’s boyfriends. In that regard, her personal needs to contextualize her early years and treat her mother with compassion can come across as excusing those behaviors by attributing too much weight to the social conditions.