Michele Roberts' Virgins
Contesting gender in fictions, re-writing Jungian theory and Christian myth
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3608597 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Susan Rowland (0000-0002-7052-3451, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 35-42 |
| Publication date | 1999-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Gender Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0958-9236 • E-ISSN: 1465-3869 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/095892399102805 |
| OpenAlex | W2036332841 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 1 |
The article considers the feminist strategic re-writing of key psychoanalytic theories (here Jungian) by splicing them with patriarchal Christian myths in order to interrogate and re-formulate gender identity. I argue that Roberts uses narrative fiction to exploit and contest the prescriptions and dualisms encoded in both Jungian theory and Christianity in order to re-present feminist desire and gender identity. What is remarkable about these novels is how they engage the forces, disruptions and seductions of fiction to expose, challenge and re-write 'mastering narratives' whether theoretical or religious. The article traces the splicing of Jungian theory and Christian myth in four novels by concentrating on the figure of the Virgin. Starting as an oppressive patriarchal motif from Christianity figured as external to desire and identity, the Virgin takes on positive charges when refracted through Jungian concepts. The Virgin becomes the site for the fictional feminist colliding of Jung and religious myth; a colliding that enables the Virgin to become a site of contested gender identity for the female artist and her art
Aesthetics · Art · Christianity · CONTEST · Literature · Mythology · Narrative · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Sociology · Theology · Jungian Analytical Psychology · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Religious studies · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
| Citations per year | 0.08 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2001 - 2009 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |