Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 53-66 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | The new collection |
| Volume | 6 |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Romance : a gendered genre. / ROSE, Kira.
In: The new collection, Vol. 6, 2011, p. 53-66.Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed)
TY - JOUR
T1 - Romance : a gendered genre
AU - ROSE, Kira
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - This paper explores gendered narratives in A.S. Byatt’s Possession: A Romance. While Byatt does not see herself as a ‘feminist’ writer, her fiction speaks to her preoccupation with the complexities of women’s lives. In the first part of this paper, I consider how Byatt’s Victorian poetess Christabel LaMotte contends with and reaffirms romance’s expectations, arguing that LaMotte stands in for the historical Poetess figure and her tenuous relationship to femininity and creativity. I go on to demonstrate how LaMotte’s identification with the mythic Fairy Melusine, and her failed attempt to write an epic poem, reinforce LaMotte as the re-embodiment of the perpetually displaced Poetess.
AB - This paper explores gendered narratives in A.S. Byatt’s Possession: A Romance. While Byatt does not see herself as a ‘feminist’ writer, her fiction speaks to her preoccupation with the complexities of women’s lives. In the first part of this paper, I consider how Byatt’s Victorian poetess Christabel LaMotte contends with and reaffirms romance’s expectations, arguing that LaMotte stands in for the historical Poetess figure and her tenuous relationship to femininity and creativity. I go on to demonstrate how LaMotte’s identification with the mythic Fairy Melusine, and her failed attempt to write an epic poem, reinforce LaMotte as the re-embodiment of the perpetually displaced Poetess.
M3 - Journal Article (refereed)
VL - 6
SP - 53
EP - 66
JO - The new collection
JF - The new collection
SN - 1757-2541
ER -