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A Feminist Mythology takes us on a poetic journey through the canonical myths of femininity, testing them from the point of view of our modern condition. A myth is not an object, but rather a process, one that Chiara Bottici practises by exploring different variants of the myth of "womanhood" through first- and third-person prose and poetry. We follow a series of myths that morph into each other, disclosing ways of being woman that question inherited patriarchal orders. In this metamorphic world, story-telling is not just a mix of narrative, philosophical dialogues and metaphysical theorizing: it is a current that traverses all of them by overflowing the boundaries it encounters. In doing so,
A Feminist Mythology proposes an alternative writing style that recovers ancient philosophical and literary traditions from the pre-Socratic philosophers and Ovid's
Metamorphoses to the philosophical novellas and feminist experimental writings of the last century.
List of contents
Preface: A Myth And A Half, By Jean-Michel Rabaté
Introduction: A Book Of Myths, By Chiara Bottici
Part I. Two Myths And A HalfFirst myth: Sherazade And Her Phantom
Second myth: The Dress Of Ariadne
Third myth: Europa Recovered
Epilogue
IntermissionPart II. The City Of Women1. Overture
2. The Vest
3. Rehab
4. The Oven Of Opposites
5. A Witch And Her Broomstick
6. A Bill
7. The Names
8. The Call, Or Occasional Tourism
9. Maximum Ten (With Addendum)
10. The Lifebelt
11. The Threat
Epilogue
IntermissionPart III. BestiariumPrologue
1. The Ostrich
2. The Butterfly
3. The Dog
4. The Snake
5. The Herring
Epilogue
IntermissionPart IV. HerbariumPrologue
The investor
Interlude The inspector
Interlude The dancing god
Grand Finale
About the author
Chiara Bottici
Summary
A Feminist Mythology takes us on a poetic journey through the canonical myths of femininity, testing them from the point of view of our modern condition. A myth is not an object, but rather a process, one that Chiara Bottici practises by exploring different variants of the myth of “womanhood” through first- and third-person prose and poetry. We follow a series of myths that morph into each other, disclosing ways of being woman that question inherited patriarchal orders. In this metamorphic world, story-telling is not just a mix of narrative, philosophical dialogues and metaphysical theorizing: it is a current that traverses all of them by overflowing the boundaries it encounters. In doing so, A Feminist Mythology proposes an alternative writing style that recovers ancient philosophical and literary traditions from the pre-Socratic philosophers and Ovid’s Metamorphoses to the philosophical novellas and feminist experimental writings of the last century.
Foreword
A series of poetic philosophical meditations exploring the mythologies that underpin our notions of contemporary femininity.
Additional text
If Danto warned against the risks of expressive reduction, inherent in the attempt to restrict philosophy to the sole genre of professional paper, Bottici’s A Feminist Mythology has above all the merit of highlighting the strength of a creative narration, which has its roots in her previous philosophical research.
