Complete in itself it needs no other, and can't be coupled

Zusatztext

This book attempts to restore the power of the figure of the spinster, as conceptualized by feminist critic Mary Daly, by presenting Emily Dickinson and Marianne Moore as exemplars of subversive spinsterhood. Using criticism that examines Dickinsons fascicles and feminist criticism that reassesses gender in Moore, I will suggest the presence of a spinster poetics in Dickinsons and Moores writing. By spinster poetics, I mean a repetition of themes that captures the experience of the spinster, which includes complicated responses to patriarchy, meditations on intimacy and isolation, and identification as other or non-normative. I will argue that these themes, coupled with evidence from Dickinsons and Moores correspondence, evince the poets respective decisions to define her Self, by choice, neither in relation to children nor to men, in fulfillment of Dalys definition. I aim to rehabilitate spinsterhood as a valuable state, one that possesses great potential for creative production, rather than read it as closeting, repressive pose for homosexuals.

Autorenportrait

Caitlin Takacs received her Masters in English Literature from Villanova University in 2013 and is now pursuing her Ph.D. in English Literature at Lehigh University. Her fields of interest include transatlantic modernism and gender and sexuality studies. She lives in rural Pennsylvania with her husband, Alex, and two dogs.

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