Aesthetic Construction of the Female Grotesque in Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf. A Study of the Interplay of Life and Literature
| Author: | Rodriguez-Salas, Gerardo and Andres-Cuevas, Isabel-Maria | |
| Year: | 2011 | |
| Pages: | 152 | |
| ISBN: | 0-7734-1565-3 978-0-7734-1565-2 | |
| Price: | $139.95 + shipping | |
| (Click the PayPal button to buy) | ||
Examines Mansfield and Woolf through a contextual analysis of the ideas presented by Julia Kristerva, Mary Russo, and Bakhtin. Rodríguez-Salas and Andrés-Cuevas develop the ideas of the female grotesque and metaphorical cannibalism to critique Edwardian society and the hypocrisy surrounding female identity. The authors pay significant attention to Mansfield and Woolf’s depictions of womanhood and maternity, and how they were influenced by external and cultural factors. This text examines a previously unrecognized strategy in Mansfield and Woolf's writings for the subversion of imperial and patriarchal power.
Reviews
“…one of the most original and engaging comparisons yet made between the work of Woolf and Mansfield.” – Prof. Angela Smith (Emeritus), University of Stirling
“…offers a fresh perspective on how we may read both women writers….the way in which subversion is woven into every fiber of their works [is] strengthened, deepened, and illuminated by this new study.” – Prof. Merry Pawlowski, California State University, Bakersfield
“…offers a fresh perspective on how we may read both women writers….the way in which subversion is woven into every fiber of their works [is] strengthened, deepened, and illuminated by this new study.” – Prof. Merry Pawlowski, California State University, Bakersfield
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword Professor Vincent O’ Sullivan
Introduction: A Public Meal for Two
Chapter 1: Contextualizing the Female Grotesque and Cannibalism
Parodying Femininity: Mimicry and Masquerade
The Maternity Debate
The Female Grotesque
Theorizing Cannibalism
Chapter 2: ‘My Insides Are All Twisted Up’: The Female Grotesque and
Maternity
A Big Shadow with a Grown-Up Baby
Maternity and Submission
Maternity and Rebellion
A Boar in the Nursery: Repulsive Images of Maternity
Chapter 3: Cannibalism and Gender
Hot Meat: Female Victimization by Men
She is a Man Eater: Male Victimization by Women
Mulier Mulieri Lupa: Female Victimization by Women
Chapter 4: Cannibalism and Power Relations
‘Give ‘em a Bone’: Cannibalism and the Inversion of the Father-Child Binary
‘Be Merciful Unto Me, O God, [...] for Man Goeth about to Devour Me’: The Devouring Action of the British Empire
Conclusions
Appendix I. List of Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index
Foreword Professor Vincent O’ Sullivan
Introduction: A Public Meal for Two
The Maternity Debate
The Female Grotesque
Theorizing Cannibalism
Maternity and Submission
Maternity and Rebellion
A Boar in the Nursery: Repulsive Images of Maternity
She is a Man Eater: Male Victimization by Women
Mulier Mulieri Lupa: Female Victimization by Women
‘Be Merciful Unto Me, O God, [...] for Man Goeth about to Devour Me’: The Devouring Action of the British Empire
Appendix I. List of Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index