Gender, professions and discourse
Subtitle: early twentieth century women's autobiography
By: Christine Etherington-Wright.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2011
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 241
ISBN-13: 9780230219922
Subjects: Autobiography -- Women authors; English prose literature -- Women authors -- History and criticism; English prose literature -- 20th century -- History and criticism; Women authors, English -- Biography -- History and criticism; Women and literature -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century; Women -- Great Britain -- Biography -- History and criticism
Description: This carefully researched book has unearthed some ninety autobiographies by professional early twentieth-century women writers in order to 'hear' the women themselves. The first half, organized by profession, offers a comprehensive and innovative analysis of the endeavours of occupational groups such as headmistresses, doctors, nurses/VADs, artists and writers to comment on their own lives and historical period. It establishes that there is stylistic consonance within the writing of each professional group, and suggests why this is the case. The second half debates across all the professions the function of frontispiece images, prefatory marginalia, silences, subjectivity and memory. This original work provides compelling insights into these women in the middle-class arena who have hitherto been marginalized by other academic or political accounts. A challenging, interdisciplinary approach employing feminist theory, historical retrieval, psychology, theory of memory and visual culture constitutes a significant contribution to our understanding and appreciation of early twentieth-century professional women.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Headmistresses; title: Doctors; title: Nurses and VADs; title: Artists and practitioners; title: Writers; title: The frontispiece image in autobiography; title: Prefaces, prologues, forewards, and introductions; title: Silences; title: Self and identity; title: Memory and accuracy; title: Conclusion.