Embedded Files
This project explores the potential of feminist folk-retellings to subvert patriarchal narratives of femininity. Commonly, folk stories have been orally passed down by women, though it is men that have solidified them in the literary canon. Grimm, Andersen, and Disney are just some of the men whose work has influenced Western cultural narratives of gender and gender difference. This study examines two modern, feminist retellings of fairytales: Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber” (1979), which retells the story of Bluebeard, and Carmen Maria Machado’s “The Husband Stitch” (2017), which reclaims the urban legend of the girl with the ribbon around her neck. I use Hélène Cixous’s concept of écriture féminine alongside Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abject to critically examine the texts. Traditionally, these two theories have not been put together. However, by merging Cixous and Kristeva it becomes apparent that both stories aim to undermine patriarchal notions of the feminine body as abject and reaffirm women’s corporeal and social autonomy. The paper argues that a reading of both stories in the light of the theory and practice of écriture féminine can undermine cultural narratives of Woman and femininity, thus disrupting and questioning the phallocentric logic of the Symbolic Order, which puts Man at the center and Woman at the margins.
Isabella Rose Caley
Isabella Rose Caley
Isabella Caley (she/her) is a graduating senior majoring in English with a Research Intensive Concentration and minoring in Women and Gender Studies. She is a proud native of Quincy Illinois. Her areas of interest are French Feminist Theory, Feminist Film Studies and Metafiction. In her free time she enjoys roller skating and traveling.
Isabella would like to thank Dr. Ruth Evans for their support of this project.
Page updated
Report abuse