This critical study explores late twentieth century novels by women
writers - including Doris Lessing, May Sarton and Barbara Pym -
that feature female protagonists over the age of sixty. These
novels create alternate discourses on aging to those largely
pejorative ones that dominate Western society. They break the
silence that normally surrounds the lives of the aged by creating
narratives that refuse to deal purely in discourses of stagnation
and decline. One strategy they share is placing an older female
protagonist at the heart of the narrative, and this book
investigates how she is represented in relation to areas such as
sexuality, dependence and everyday life. The book begins with an
investigation of popular opinions about the aging process and
surveys a variety of hypotheses from disciplines including
gerontology, psychology and feminism. It also reviews literary
critical attitudes toward fictions of aging. Chapter Two analyzes
representations of physically dependent characters. Anger is often
seen as a response to the difficulties caused by their failing
bodies, which is exacerbated by society's neglect but eased by
relationships with their female friends. Chapter Three discusses
how paradigms of female sexuality are constructed in such a way as
to exclude the possibility of older women being sexually desirable.
Chapter Four covers characters that live a contented life. Treating
the novels from both an age and genderaware perspective reveals a
more polemical side to them than is noted in more conventional
literary critiques. Chapter Five analyzes the aged sleuth in
classical detective fiction.
General
Imprint: |
McFarland & Company
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
2005 |
First published: |
2005 |
Authors: |
Zoe Brennan
|
Dimensions: |
228 x 164 x 12mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
195 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-7864-1900-5 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-7864-1900-8 |
Barcode: |
9780786419005 |
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