Autobiography and Questions of Gender

223 Pages·1991·5.152 MB·English

by  Shirley Neuman (ed.)

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ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS:
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E AUTOBIOGRAPHY
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,ISBN!79I78B-11D-183-8j-9e4b1c2h7e-4!
www.routledge.com(cid:1)aninformabusiness
ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS:
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Volume 6
AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND QUESTIONS
OF GENDER
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AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND QUESTIONS
OF GENDER
Edited by
SHIRLEY NEUMAN
Firstpublishedin1991
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ISBN:978-1-138-93641-6(Set)
ISBN:978-1-315-67463-6(Set)(ebk)
ISBN:978-1-138-94127-4(Volume6)(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-315-67382-0(Volume6)(ebk)
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Autobiography
and
Questions of Gender
Edited by
SHIRLEY NEUMAN
FRANK CASS
First published in 1991 in Great Britain by
FRANK CASS & CO. LTD.
Gainsborough House, Gainsborough Road,
London E111RS, England
and in the United States of America by
FRANKCASS
c/o International Specialized Book Services, Inc.
5602 N.E. Hassalo Street, Portland, Oregon 97213
Copyright© 1991 Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Autobiography and questions of gender.
I. Neuman, Shirley
809.93592072
ISBN 0-7146-3422-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Autobiography and questions of gender/ edited by Shirley Neuman.
p. em.
"Essays first appeared in a special issue ... of Prose studies,
vol. 14, no. 2"-T.p. verso.
ISBN 0-7146-3422-0
1. American prose literature-Women authors-History and
criticism. 2. Women authors, American-Biography-History and
criticism. 3. Autobiography-Authorship-Sex differences.
4. Autobiography-Women authors. I. Neuman, S.C. (Shirley C.)
PS366.A88A93 1991
810.9'49207----dc20 91-32766
CIP
This group of studies first appeared in a special issue on "Auto-
biography and Questions of Gender" of Prose Studies, Vol. 14, No.
2, published by Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Frank Cass
and Company Limited.
Typeset by Regent Typesetting
Printed in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Autobiography and Questions of Gender:
An Introduction Shirley Neuman 1
Auto/Bio/History: Modern Midwifery Lynn Z. Bloom 12
Refracting Selves: Kate Millett's
The Basement Jeanne Perreault 25
From the Inside Out: Lily Briscoe a Self-Portrait:
an autobiography by Mary Meigs Susanna Egan 37
A Signature of Lesbian Autobiography:
"Gertrice/Altrude" Leigh Gilmore 56
Women's Autobiography: The Self at Stake? T. L. Broughton 76
Engendered Autobiographies: The Diary as a
Feminine Form Rebecca Hogan 95
Delivery: The Cultural Re-presentation of
Childbirth Cynthia Huff 108
Figuration and Disfigurement: Herculine Barbin
and the Autobiography of the Body Roger J. Porter 122
Autobiography, Bodies, Manhood Shirley Neuman 137
Poet and Patriarch in Maxine Hong Kingston's
China Men Joseph Fichtelberg 166
The Autobiographical Manifesto: Identities,
Temporalities, Politics Sidonie Smith 186
Page Intentionally Left Blank
Acknowledgements
Much of the work of assembling this collection was enabled by
a McCalla Research Professorship from the University of Alberta
awarded to the editor. She is most grateful for this support.
The editor also wishes to thank those who helped: Deborah Wills,
who brought a keen eye to the checking of citations and references
throughout the collection; Flora Pavich, who typed it with a cheerful
patience that never flagged before authors' corrections and changes;
and Don Anderson, who proofread with promptness and care.