Dead Women Talking

Figures of Injustice in American Literature

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Theory
Cover of the book Dead Women Talking by Brian Norman, Johns Hopkins University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Brian Norman ISBN: 9781421407999
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Publication: December 31, 2012
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Brian Norman
ISBN: 9781421407999
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication: December 31, 2012
Imprint:
Language: English

Brian Norman uncovers a curious phenomenon in American literature: dead women who nonetheless talk. These characters appear in works by such classic American writers as Poe, Dickinson, and Faulkner as well as in more recent works by Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Tony Kushner, and others. These figures are also emerging in contemporary culture, from the film and best-selling novel The Lovely Bones to the hit television drama Desperate Housewives.

Dead Women Talking demonstrates that the dead, especially women, have been speaking out in American literature since well before it was fashionable. Norman argues that they voice concerns that a community may wish to consign to the past, raising questions about gender, violence, sexuality, class, racial injustice, and national identity. When these women insert themselves into the story, they do not enter precisely as ghosts but rather as something potentially more disrupting: posthumous citizens. The community must ask itself whether it can or should recognize such a character as one of its own. The prospect of posthumous citizenship bears important implications for debates over the legal rights of the dead, social histories of burial customs and famous cadavers, and the political theory of citizenship and social death.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Brian Norman uncovers a curious phenomenon in American literature: dead women who nonetheless talk. These characters appear in works by such classic American writers as Poe, Dickinson, and Faulkner as well as in more recent works by Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Tony Kushner, and others. These figures are also emerging in contemporary culture, from the film and best-selling novel The Lovely Bones to the hit television drama Desperate Housewives.

Dead Women Talking demonstrates that the dead, especially women, have been speaking out in American literature since well before it was fashionable. Norman argues that they voice concerns that a community may wish to consign to the past, raising questions about gender, violence, sexuality, class, racial injustice, and national identity. When these women insert themselves into the story, they do not enter precisely as ghosts but rather as something potentially more disrupting: posthumous citizens. The community must ask itself whether it can or should recognize such a character as one of its own. The prospect of posthumous citizenship bears important implications for debates over the legal rights of the dead, social histories of burial customs and famous cadavers, and the political theory of citizenship and social death.

More books from Johns Hopkins University Press

Cover of the book Science Unshackled by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Genoa and the Sea by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Blood on Steel by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Critical Educational Psychology by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Schizophrenia by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Securing the West by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Streamliner by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Dying and Living in the Neighborhood by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Telling Genes by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Chickenizing Farms and Food by Brian Norman
Cover of the book The Problem with Pilots by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Rome's Christian Empress by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Still Down by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Rethinking the Administrative Presidency by Brian Norman
Cover of the book Proust's Latin Americans by Brian Norman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy