Feminist Interpretations of Soren Kierkegaard (Re-Reading the Canon)

Unlike many of the major figures in Western philosophy, Kierkegaard explores many issues of interest to feminist theorists today. Moreover, he does so in a style--labyrinthine, many-voiced, multilayered, adverse to authority--that adumbrates criture fminine . A major question probed in the volume is whether Kierkegaard's writings are misogynist, ambivalent, or essentialist in their views of women and the feminine or whether, in some important and vital ways, they are liberatory and empowering for feminists and women trying to free themselves from the maze of patriarchal constructs. The essays also show how the three existence-spheres--aesthetic, ethical, and religious--articulated in Kierkegaard's authorship inscribe different modalities of the sexual relation: seduction for the aesthetic, marriage for the ethical, and absence from commerce with the other sex for the religious. Contributors are Sylviane Agacinski, Wanda Warren Berry, Birgit Bertung, Jane Duran, Leslie A. Howe, Cline Lon, Tamsin Lorraine, Robert L. Perkins, Mark L. Taylor, Sylvia Walsh, and Julia Watkin. Aandacht voor het gedachtengoed van Søren Kierkegaard vanuit feministisch perspectief. Bevat de volgende bijdragen: The heterosexual imagination and aesthetic existence in Kierkegaard's 'Either/Or', part 1 / Wanda Warren Berry; Yes, a woman can exist / Birgit Bertung; The logic of Søren Kierkegaard's misogyny, 1854-1855 / Julia Watkin; Woman-bashing in Kierkegaard's "In vino veritas": a reinscription of Plato's 'Symposium' / Robert L. Perkins; (A) woman's place within the ethical / Céline Léon; An aparté on repetition / Sylviane Agacinski; The no woman's land of Kierkegaardian exceptions / Céline Léon; Almost earnestness?: autobiographical reading, feminist re-reading, and Kierkegaard's 'Concluding unscientific postcript' / Mark Lloyd Taylor; On 'feminine' and 'masculine' forms of despair / Sylvia Walsh; Kierkegaard and the feminine self / Leslie A. Howe; The Kierkegaardian feminist / Jane Duran; Subjectivity versus objectivity: Kierkegaard's 'Postscript' and feminist epistemology / Sylvia Wash; The silent woman in Kierkegaard's later religious writings / Wanda Warren Berry; Amatory cures for material dis-ease: a Kristevian reading of 'The sickness unto death' / Tamsin Lorraine The Heterosexual Imagination And Aesthetic Existence In Kierkegaard's Either/or, Part I / Wanda Warren Berry -- Yes, A Woman Can Exist / Birgit Bertung -- The Logic Of Søren Kierkegaard's Misogyny, 1854-1855 / Julia Watkin -- Woman-bashing In Kierkegaard's In Vino Veritas : A Reinscription Of Plato's Symposium / Robert L. Perkins -- (a) Woman's Place Within The Ethical / Céline Léon -- An Aparté On Repetition / Sylviane Agacinski -- The No Woman's Land Of Kierkegaardian Exceptions / Céline Léon -- Almost Earnestness? Autobiographical Reading, Feminist Re-reading, And Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript / Mark Lloyd Taylor -- On Feminine And Masculine Forms Of Despair / Sylvia Walsh -- Kierkegaard And The Feminine Self / Leslie A. Howe -- The Kierkegaardian Feminist / Jane Duran -- Subjectivity Versus Objectivity : Kiekegaard's Postscript And Feminist Epistemology / Sylvia Walsh -- The Silent Woman In Kierkegaard's Later Religious Writings / Wanda Warren Berry -- Amatory Cures For Material Dis-ease : A Kristevian Reading Of The Sickness Unto Death / Tamsin Lorraine. Edited By Céline León And Sylvia Walsh. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [329]-334) And Index.

Unlike many of the major figures in Western philosophy, Kierkegaard explores many issues of interest to feminist theorists today. Moreover, he does so in a style-labyrinthine, many-voiced, multilayered, adverse to authority-that adumbrates écriture féminine.

A major question probed in the volume is whether Kierkegaard's writings are misogynist, ambivalent, or essentialist in their views of women and the feminine or whether, in some important and vital ways, they are liberatory and empowering for feminists and women trying to free themselves from the maze of patriarchal constructs.

The essays also show how the three existence-spheres-aesthetic, ethical, and religious-articulated in Kierkegaard's authorship inscribe different modalities of the sexual relation: seduction for the aesthetic, marriage for the ethical, and absence from commerce with the other sex for the religious.

Contributors are Sylviane Agacinski, Wanda Warren Berry, Birgit Bertung, Jane Duran, Leslie A. Howe, Céline Léon, Tamsin Lorraine, Robert L. Perkins, Mark L. Taylor, Sylvia Walsh, and Julia Watkin.