Maternity and Romance Narratives in Early Modern England

Karen Bamford editor Naomi J Miller editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:9th Dec '15

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Maternity and Romance Narratives in Early Modern England cover

Though recent scholarship has focused both on motherhood and on romance literature in early modern England, until now, no full length volume has addressed the notable intersections between the two topics. This collection contributes to the scholarly investigation of maternity in early modern England by scrutinizing romance narratives in various forms, considering motherhood not as it was actually lived, but as it was figured in the fantasy world of romance by authors ranging from Edmund Spenser to Margaret Cavendish. Contributors explore the traditional association between romance and women, both as readers of fiction and as tellers of ’old wives’ tales,’ as well as the tendency of romance plots, with their emphasis on the family and its reproduction, to foreground matters of maternity. Collectively, the essays in this volume invite reflection on the uses to which Renaissance culture put maternal stereotypes (the virgin mother, the cruel step-dame), as well as the powerful fears and desires that mothers evoke, assuage and sometimes express in the fantasy world of romance.

'Maternity and Romance Narratives in Early Modern England makes a genuine contribution to scholarship in the fields of early modern literature, romance, and gender studies, particularly in its use of romance to explore ways in which the anxieties (and sometimes the veneration) of maternity may be managed.' Mary Ellen Lamb, Emeritus, Southern Illinois University, USA

ISBN: 9781472462244

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 589g

234 pages