The problem of female subjectivity in the novelized biographies by Muriel Spark
https://doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2021-65-3-69-75
Abstract
This article studies the novelized biography genre based on the works by the famous British representative of the 20th-century female prose.
The aim of the research is to explore the problem of female subjectivity in the two books by M. Spark.
The study is based on the works “Child of Light: A Reevaluation of Mary Shelley” (1951) and “Emily Bronte: Her Life and Work” (1953). The research focuses on the principles of selecting and structuring the materials, presenting the life story of two prominent English writers. Both books focus on the problem of female subjectivity. These texts make it possible to get an idea of the irreconcilability of patriarchal discourse and the behavior model of Muriel Spark’s heroines. The first of the books presents this way out of the accustomed discourse through the intimate sphere that challenges the established canons and determines the exclusivity of M. Shelley in the emotional sphere, while in the second book the emphasis is on the “strangeness” of the heroine and E. Brontë’s philosophical habit of mind, which also goes against the generally accepted ideas about the mental capabilities of women. The problem of female subjectivity is revealed at ideological and thematic levels through the actualization of the idea of the heroine’s exclusiveness. Moreover, a departure from the principle of objec-
tive presentation and the presence of the polyphony technique determine the significance of the stated problem at the structural and compositional levels of the texts.
About the Authors
A. Vafina
Kazan Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alsu Hadievna Vafina, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor
420008
18 Kremlyovskaya Str.
Kazan
Zh. Konovalova
Kazan Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Zhanna Georgievna Konovalova, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor
420008
18 Kremlyovskaya Str.
Kazan
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Review
For citations:
Vafina A., Konovalova Zh. The problem of female subjectivity in the novelized biographies by Muriel Spark. Philology and Culture. 2021;(3):69-75. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2021-65-3-69-75
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