Gender-Bending Fantasies in Women's Writing

What is the function of a fantastic image in a
novel? Why do writers switch into the fantastic
mode? Does a webbed feet heroine imply subversion?
Can a winged woman be a certain signifier? This book
sets out from the premise that the literary
fantastic in women's writing can be a gender-bending
tool and subvert patriarchal gender roles. Thus, it
investigates the function of the fantastic elements
in the novels of Angela Carter and Jeanette
Winterson. The book shows that through an
efficient use of the fantastic mode, both Carter and
Winterson successfully negate culturally dominant
notions of reality in their novels, whereby they
resist the cultural constructions of gender. The
close analysis of the four novels presented in
separate chapters identifies each fantastic image
with its possible cultural and political
implications so that the un-seen of the culture
can be seen clearly. Focusing on the subversive
nature of the fantastic images in Carter's and
Winterson's novels, this book shows how women
writers can transcend traditional gender boundaries.

Autorentext

Dr Mine Ozyurt Kilic is a Lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature at Bilkent University, Turkey. She has published articles and reviews on contemporary women's writing. With Margaret J-M Sonmez, she edited the forthcoming volume of essays "Winterson Narrating Time and Space" for Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Klappentext

What is the function of a fantastic image in a novel? Why do writers switch into the fantastic mode? Does a webbed feet heroine imply subversion? Can a winged woman be a certain signifier? This book sets out from the premise that the literary fantastic in women's writing can be a gender-bending tool and subvert patriarchal gender roles. Thus, it investigates the function of the fantastic elements in the novels of Angela Carter and Jeanette Winterson. The book shows that through an efficient use of the fantastic mode, both Carter and Winterson successfully negate culturally dominant notions of reality in their novels, whereby they resist the cultural constructions of gender. The close analysis of the four novels presented in separate chapters identifies each fantastic image with its possible cultural and political implications so that the "un-seen" of the culture can be seen clearly. Focusing on the subversive nature of the fantastic images in Carter's and Winterson's novels, this book shows how women writers can transcend traditional gender boundaries.