Literary Sisterhoods

A genealogy of the figure of the woman artist - performer, painter or writer - in selected literary texts from the beginning of the nineteenth century to our own times.

A genealogy of the figure of the woman artist - performer, painter or writer - in selected literary texts from the beginning of the 19th century to our own times.In literary works by women authors ranging from Mme de Stael, George Eliot, and Anna Banti, to contemporary writers Alice Munro and Grace Paley, Deborah Heller examines how women writers over the past two centuries have represented the challenges of being both a woman and an artist. Literary Sisterhoods examines the untold connections between the woman author and her subject, between woman authors, and among women artists the world over. Heller teases out a convincing assertion of sisterhoods for a diverse range of authors and works despite the differences of the cultures and eras they represent. Heller's book builds on feminist criticism and scholarship that has helped make us aware of the distinctive perspectives on female experience revealed in women's writing. Literary Sisterhoods explores how women authors construct their female protagonists' quests for creative self-expression. Situating these narrative journeys in their own times and cultures, Heller shows how they contribute to a common tradition that speaks to readers today.