Rape and the rise of the author
Subtitle: gendering intention in early modern England
By: Amy Greenstadt.
Series: Women and gender in the early modern world
Publisher: Ashgate
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Burlington, VT
Language: eng
Number of pages: 187
ISBN-13: 9780754662747; 9780754695936
Subjects: English literature -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism; Rape in literature; Rape -- Philosophy; Gender identity in literature; Femininity in literature; Individuation (Philosophy) in literature; Intention in literature; Point of view (Literature)
Description: Contending that early modern fictional portrayals of sexual violence identify the position of the author with that of the chaste woman threatened with rape, Amy Greenstadt challenges the prevalent scholarly view that this period's concept of 'The Author' was inherently masculine. Instead, she argues, the analogy between rape and writing centrally informed ideas of literary intention that emerged during the English Renaissance. Analyzing works by Milton, Sidney, Shakespeare and Cavendish, Greenstadt shows how the figure of 'The Author' - and by extension ideas of the modern individual--derived from a paradigm of female virtue and vulnerability. This volume supplements the growing body of studies that address the relationship between early modern textual representation and notions of gender and sexuality; it also adds a new dimension in considering the wider origins of modern concepts of selfhood and individual rights. --
Notes: Includes index.