Narrative Authority and Homeostasis in the Novels of Doris Lessing - and Carmen Martin Gait

This study, originally published in 1990, assesses a shift in the presentation of self-consciousness in two pairs of novels by Doris Lessing and Carmen Martín Gaite: 1) Lessing's The Summer Before the Dark (1973) and Martín Gaite's Retahílas (1974) and 2) Lessing's The Memoirs of a Survivor (1974) and Martín Gaite's The Back Room (1978). Three major structural divisions facilitate examining implications of the novels for 1) feminism 2) literary narrative and 3) the lives of people-at-large.

List of contents

Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction Section 1: Lives 1. The Tellers Section 2: Women and Authority 2. Feministics 3. Depsychologicalization 4. Narrating "She" and "I" Section 3: Midlife 5. Midlife in Literature 6. Mind of One’s Own Section 4: Language and the Tales 7. The Ways of Language 8. Through a Wall Darkly 9. On the Edge. Conclusion. Epilogue. Bibliography.

About the author

Linda E. Chown

Summary

First published in 1990, this book assesses a shift in the presentation of self-consciousness in 2 pairs of novels by Doris Lessing and Carmen Martín Gaite: 1) The Summer Before the Dark (1973) and Retahílas (1974) and 2) The Memoirs of a Survivor (1974) and The Back Room (1978).

Product details

• Authors: Linda E. Chown
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.10.2021
• EAN: 9780367334581
• ISBN: 978-0-367-33458-1
• No. of pages: 408
• Series: Routledge Library Editions: Modern Fiction
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; English, LITERARY CRITICISM / General, Spanish, Literary studies: from c 1900 -, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000