The madwoman in the attic by Janet Gezari.docx
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The madwoman in the attic by Janet Gezari.docx
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ThemadwomanintheatticbyJanetGezari
SandraM.GilbertandSusanGubar'sTheMadwomanintheAttic
1.JanetGezari
+AuthorAffiliations
1.ConnecticutCollege
NextSection
ITTOOKABOUTacenturyfortheangelinthehousetojoinforceswiththemadwomanintheattic.AccordingtoSandraM.GilbertandSusanGubar,evenwhenthisangeloccupiedtheforegroundinnineteenthcenturynovels,shewasshadowedbyherdarktwin.Beneaththeplacidbrook,theturbulentwhirlpoolchurned.Thissplitimagehadalonghistoryinromance,andafamousnineteenthcenturyversioninThackeray'sbitterpictureofBeckySharpasa‘fiendishmarinecannibal’towardstheendofVanityFair.ButGilbertandGubarwerethefirsttounitetheangelandthemadwomaninasinglebeing,applaudherexpressivetransgressions,andidentifyherwiththewomanwriter.Whenthemonster-womanrosefromthedepthstotheattic,mostlybecauseCharlotteBrontëhadlocatedherthereinthenovelthatgaveGilbertandGubartheirtitleandprovided‘aparadigmofmanydistinctivelyfemaleanxietiesandabilities’(p.xii),shestakedanewclaimtoherlegitimateshareofthehouseoffiction.1
Femaleliterarycriticswerejustlininguptomakethisclaimgoodin1979,whenTheMadwomanintheAttic:
TheWomanWriterandtheNineteenth-CenturyLiteraryImaginationwaspublished.ElaineShowalter'sALiteratureofTheirOwn:
BritishWomenWritersfromBrontëtoLessinghadappearedayearearlier,precededbyEllenMoers'sLiteraryWomen:
TheGreatWriters(1976).Allthesebookssignalledfeministcriticism'sturnfromwhatShowalterwouldlatercall‘feministcritique’–theanalysis(andcorrection)oftherepresentationofwomeninliteraturebymen–to‘gynocritics’,whichfocusedonliteraturebywomen.2ThewordthatShowalterinventedisawkwardpartlybecauseitlooksasifitshouldbereferringtothecriticsthemselvesratherthantotheirdiscourse.Infact,anewinterpretativecommunityofreaders,aswellasanewcommunityofwriters,wascomingintobeing.Womenwereestablishingaconsiderablylargerpresenceintheacademy,andtheyweredoingthiswithouthavingtogiveuptheprospectofchildren.Literaturebythewell-knownwomenwriterswhofirstfiguredinthenewstudieshadattractedattentionbefore,butnotinthecontextofthefemalecultureorsubculturethatfeministcriticswerenowidentifying.Womenaswriters,andthegroundtheyshared–biological,psychological,linguistic,historical,andcultural–werenowthefocusofattention.AconcordancetothemostfrequentlyusedwordsinMadwomanintheAttic(availableatA)revealsthatthethreethatappearmostoftenarefemale,women,andown.Definingandcelebratingthedifferenceinwomen'swritingpoweredthenextphaseoffeministcriticism.GilbertandGubarrestrictedthemselvestofamiliarnames–JaneAusten,theBrontës,MaryShelley,GeorgeEliot,ElizabethBarrettBrowning,ChristinaRossetti,andEmilyDickinson–butthenewinterestinwomenaswriters,combinedwiththeperceptionthatsomewomen'swritinghadbeendismissedbecauseitfailedtoconformtodominantmaleparadigms,ledtotheimportanteffortsofthenexttwodecadestorecovertheworkofpreviouslyneglectedwomenwriters.
MadwomanintheAtticwasimmediatelyapopularaswellasanacademicsuccess.IntheUnitedStatesitwasarunner-upforboththePulitzerPrizeandtheNationalBookCriticsCircleAward.Itsoldwidelyandheldoutthehope,howeverbriefly,thattherewasanaudienceoutsidetheacademyforliterarycriticismofthesortthatacademicratherthantradepressespublish.Itsunusualsuccesshastobeunderstoodinrelationtothetimeofitspublication,especiallyintheUnitedStates,aswellastoitsmethod.Women(andmen)werebeginningtobeseenasdifferentlygendered,withdifferentlysocialisedexperiencesanddifferentculturalcontextsforreadingandwriting.Foralargenumberofreaders,GilbertandGubar'saccountofhownineteenth-centurywomen'swritinghadbeenshapedby‘genderstrife’broughttheemergenceofgenderasacategoryofanalysistofullconsciousness.3Moreover,MadwomanintheAtticrepresentedwomenwritersashistoricalbeingsengagedinasearchforidentity,equality,andauthoritythatmirrored,andwasintendedtomirror,thatofmanywomen,notjustwriters.GilbertandGubarwerecommittedtotheideathatwomenweresubstantialselvescapableofexercisingsomecontrolovertheirchoices,andthatexperienceor‘life’hadsomepresencepriortoitsarticulationinlanguage.Theseviewsstillhaveenoughtruthinthemtobeheldbyalmosteveryoneexceptpost-structuralists.ThemomentumofMadwomancarrieditsauthorsthroughthenextdecadeandahalf:
theycontinuedtotellthenineteenthcenturystorytheyhaduncoveredinthethreevolumesofNoMan'sLand:
ThePlaceoftheWomanWriterintheTwentiethCentury(1988-95),andin1985theyeditedTheNortonAnthologyofLiteraturebyWomen,designedtomeettheneedsofinstructorsteachingthemanycoursesinliteraturebywomenthathadbythenbeenestablished.Thesubtitle–TheTraditioninEnglish–suggeststheconsolidationofanewcanon.
InMadwomanintheAttic,GilbertandGubarexposed,withmoreauthority,amplitude,andenergythananyonehadyetbroughttothesubject,thepowerofthemetaphorsthathadmade,ortriedtomake,writingamen'sclub.Theiropeningquestion–‘Isthepenametaphoricalpenis?
’–ledthemtotheobviousnextquestion–‘Withwhatorgancanfemalesgeneratetexts?
’Somefeministreadersobjectedtotheserhetoricalquestions.NinaAuerbach,forexample,pointedtoan‘equallytimeless’andpotentially‘moreoppressive…equationbetweenliterarycreativityandchildbirth’.4Sexualanalogiesarealwaysreductive,buttheoneGilbertandGubarchosehadarichhistoryandeffectivelyevokedthecontestbetweenmalehavesandfemalehave-notsmostlikelytoproduceenvyandanxiety.Themetaphorswereonlypartofthepicture.Althoughplentyofwomenweretakingupthepeninthenineteenthcentury,theyexperiencedadistinctkindofdiscouragementaswomen,despiteevidence(notalwaysincludedinMadwomanintheAttic)thattheyexperienceditinradicallydifferentways.GilbertandGubarquoteRobertSouthey'sfamousletterofadvicetoCharlotteBrontë,whohadsenthimsomeofherpoemstoread:
‘Literatureisnotthebusinessofawoman'slife,anditcannotbe’(p.8).OnewonderswhathewouldhavesaidifBrontëhadsenthimapassagefromJaneEyreinsteadofearlyworkinagenreillsuitedtohergenius.ButtheycouldjustaswellhavequotedG.H.Lewes'sreviewofShirley,evenmorepunishinginitspublicrevelationthat‘theauthoressisthedaughterofaclergyman!
’,5ortheycouldhavecitedBrontë'sownsufferingandangerwhenLewes‘socruellyhandledthequestionofsex’.6
GilbertandGubar'saccountofhowwomenrespondedtothesystematicattempttodisablethemfrombecomingwritersisthefirstthoroughgoinganalysisofthesubjectwehave.Inuncoveringplotafterplotagainstwomen,theyretellthestoriesofmanynovelsandpoemsandofthelivesofthosewhowrotethem.MadwomanintheAtticoffersaversionofbiographicalcriticism.Itis‘literary’withoutbeinginaccessibletoageneralreaderwho,whateverelseshebelievesin,believesinlives.AnnetteKolodnyspokeformanywhenshedescribedGilbertandGubar'sreadingsas‘nothingshortofbreathtaking,uncovering–ineventhebestknownofthesetexts–shapesandstrategieswehadneverseenbefore’.7Intheirversionof‘SnowWhite’,forexample,aplottheysummariseintheirintroductorychapter,thewickedQueenandSnowWhitearenotenemiesbutsisters,theangelinthehouseandthemadmonsterintheattic,eachseekingtokillorrepresstheother.MaryJacobussummarisedthisnicely:
Yearningforalifeofsignificantaction,stories,andstorytelling,theQueenplotstokillherangelicstepdaughter.Tothisend,shedevotesthetraditionallyfemaleartsoftightlacing,cosmetology,andcuisine,butherthree‘plots’succeedonlyintransformingherrivalintoaneternallybeautiful,inanimateobjetd'artpreservedintheglasscoffinofpatriarchalaesthetics.JustasthewickedQueenstrugglestoridherselfofthisstaticcreation,soherstepdaughterattemptstorepressthecreativeQueenortaletellerinherself.Onceprovedtobepatriarchy'sidealwoman,however,theAngelisrestoredtolooking-glasslifeinherFather'srealm(andthere,presumablytoaplotofendlessrepetitionassheinturn‘falls’intofemalesexuality).Meanwhile,thewickedandnarcissisticplotterwhomshehasousteddancestodeathinherred-hotshoes,doingthe‘deathdance’ofAnneSexton'spoem,‘TheRedShoes’–amad,monstrous,andalienatedwomanartist.8Hereandinthebookasawhole,howwomenwriterstellthisstoryneverfiguresaslargelyastheirmotivefortellingitanditsoutcome:
theproductionof‘amad,monstrous,andalienatedwomanartist’.
InsofarasMadwomanintheAttichasatheoreticalargumenttomake,itisanargumentaboutinfluence.In1973HaroldBloomhadpublishedhisbookaboutthe‘anxietyofinfluence’,theOedipalstrugglebetweenfathersandsonsthat,accordingtoBloom,expressesitselfincreativeachievementandproducestheneworiginaltalent.GilbertandGubarrejectedbothBloom'sideaofpoeticinfluenceas‘arelationshipof“sonship”’andhisideaofthefilialrelationshipascombative.Theyproposedthatafemalewriternotonlyexperiencesananxietyofinfluencedifferentlyfromamalewriter;sheexperiencessomethingfarmoresignificantforher.Theycalledthisan‘“anxietyofauthorship”–aradicalfearthatsheca
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