Finch, Burney, Barbauld and the Brontes: feminine identity

Thumbnail Image
Date
1992
Authors
Davis, Lori
Major Professor
Advisor
Kathleen K. Hickok
Dale H. Rose
P. M. Keith
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Altmetrics
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Organizational Unit
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
English
Abstract

Modern readers of literature have occasionally noticed similarities in the themes and imagery of British women writers. These similarities have been argued as springing from either a shared cultural heritage or a gender-specific biological experience. Proponents of the 'nurture' camp suggest that common life experiences within western culture, including a shared literary history, political invisibility, and domestic responsibilities which set definite limits on intellectual pursuits worked to create in these women a shared consciousness, intimately connected to their personal identities, which encodes a distinctly feminine imprint on much of their work. Proponents of the 'nature' camp, on the other hand, suggest that not cultural experience, per se, but the biological differences between men and women are largely responsible for the similarities in women's writing.

Comments
Description
Keywords
Citation
Source
Copyright
Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 1992