Full Description
Dissatisfaction with the present can cause people to gaze nostalgically back to an idealized past; that nostalgia pervades contemporary rhetoric. In lamenting the 'degeneracy' of present-day America, social and literary critics as well as contemporary novelists often choose as their scapegoat the women's movement and its increasing influence. Doane and Hodges show us how these social observers seek to 'reinstate' America and American values in ways that, overtly or covertly, do battle with the feminist movement for control of rhetoric, the power of language.
Contents
Preface. Introduction. 1. Monstrous Amazons 2. Feminism and the Decline of America 3. Women and the World According to Garp 4. The Anxiety of Feminist Influence 5. Feminist Scholarship as Shadow Work 6. Family Feud. Postscript. Notes. References. Index.
