The Feminization of Quest-Romance: Radical Departures
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Description
The Feminization of Quest-Romance proposes that a female quest is a revolutionary step in both literary and cultural terms. Indeed, despite the difficulty that women writers face in challenging myths, rituals, psychological theories, and literary conventions deemed universal by a culture that exalts masculine ideals and universalizes male experience, a number of revolutionary texts have come into existence in the second half of the twentieth century by such American women writers as Jean Stafford, Mary McCarthy, Anne Moody, Marilynne Robinson, and Mona Simpson, all of them working to redefine the literary portrayal of American women's quests. They work, in part, by presenting questing female characters who refuse to accept the roles accorded them by restrictive social norms, even if it means sacrificing themselves in the name of rebellion. In later texts, female heroes survive their "lighting out" experiences to explore diverse alternatives to the limiting roles that have circumscribed female development. [Amazon.com]
ISBN
9780292724716
Publication Date
1990
Publisher
University of Texas Press
City
Austin, TX
Keywords
American literature, Female hero, Feminist criticism, Heroines in literature, Literary criticism, Monomyth, Quest romance, Women in literature, Women's quest, Women writers
Disciplines
American Literature | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Recommended Citation
Heller, Dana, "The Feminization of Quest-Romance: Radical Departures" (1990). English Faculty Bookshelf. 34.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/english_books/34