Soft Canons : American Women Writers and Masculine Tradition

Recognizing that masculine literary tradition can include marginalized male writers as well as canonized female writers and that traditions themselves change over time, the essays in this insightful and coherent collection also explore the investment of the writers, as well as ninetieth- and twentieth-century readers, in canon creation. As it reconstructs conversations between these earlier authors and initiates new dialogues for today's readers, Soft Canons offers provocative reconceptualizations of American literary and cultural history. Front Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 The Conversation of “The Whole Family”: Gender, Politics, and Aesthetics in Literary Tradition......Page 14 Lydia Maria Child, James Fenimore Cooper, and Catharine Maria Sedgwick: A Dialogue on Race, Culture, and Gender......Page 40 Reconstructing Literary Genealogies: Frances E. W. Harper’s and William Dean Howells’s Race Novels......Page 61 Was Tom White? Stowe’s Dred and Twain’s Pudd'nhead Wilson......Page 80 Shaped by Readers: The Slave Narratives of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs......Page 95 Body Politics and the Body Politic in William Wells Brown’s Clotel and Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig......Page 112 Wild Semantics: Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Feminization of Edgar Allan Poe’s Arabesque Aesthetics......Page 136 Deepening Hues to Local Color: George Washington Cable and Sarah Barnwell Elliott......Page 154 Sister Carrie and The Awakening: The Clothed, the Unclothed, and the Woman Undone......Page 180 Ladies Prefer Bonds: Edith Wharton, Theodore Dreiser, and the Money Novel......Page 197 Mining the West: Bret Harte and Mary Hallock Foote......Page 215 My Banker and I Can Afford to Laugh! Class and Gender in Fanny Fern and Nathaniel Hawthorne......Page 232 Body/Rituals: The (Homo)Erotics of Death in Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Rose Terry Cooke, and Edgar Allan Poe......Page 252 The Five Million Women of My Race: Negotiations of Gender in W. E. B. Du Bois and Anna Julia Cooper......Page 275 Woman Thinking: Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the American Scholar......Page 294 How Conscious Could Consciousness Grow? Emily Dickinson and William James......Page 319 Contributors......Page 346 Index......Page 350 The Conversation Of The Whole Family : Gender, Politics, And Aesthetics In Literary Tradition / Karen L. Kilcup -- Lydia Maria Child, James Fenimore Cooper, And Catharine Maria Sedgwick : A Dialogue On Race, Culture, And Gender / Susanne Opfermann -- Reconstructing Literary Genealogies : Frances E.w. Harper's And William Dean Howell's Race Novels / M. Giulia Fabi -- Was Tom White? Stowe's Dred And Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson / Julie Newman -- Shaped By Readers : The Slave Narratives Of Frederick Douglass And Harriet Jacobs / Stephen Matterson -- Body Politics And The Body Politic In William Wells Brown's Clotel And Harriet Wilson's Our Nig / R.j. Ellis -- Wild Semantics : Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Feminization Of Edgar Allan Poe's Arabesque Aesthetics / Gabriele Rippl -- Deepening Hues To Local Color : George Washington Cable And Sarah Barnwell Elliott / Aranzazu Usandizaga -- Sister Carrie And The Awakening : The Clothed, The Unclothed, And The Woman Undone / Janet Beer -- Ladies Prefer Bonds : Edith Wharton, Theodore Dreiser, And The Money Novel / Claire Preston -- Mining The West : Bret Harte And Mary Hallock Foote / Janet Floyd -- My Banker And I Can Afford To Laugh! Class And Gender In Fanny Fern And Nathaniel Hawthorne / Alison M.j. Easton -- Body/rituals : The (homo)erotics Of Death In Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Rose Terry Cooke, And Edgar Allan Poe / Ralph J. Poole -- The Five Million Women Of My Race : Negotiations Of Gender In W.e.b. Du Bois And Anna Julia Cooper / Hanna Wallinger -- Woman Thinking : Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson And The American Scholar / Lindsey Traub -- How Conscious Could Consciousness Grow? Emily Dickinson And William James / Susan Manning. Edited By Karen L. Kilcup. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Addressing the spheres of 19th-century masculine and feminine criticism, the 16 essays in this text establish and complicate literary genealogies as they explore connections, discuss mutual influences, and propose theories of difference and alliance to create an account of the period.