Seeking a Country: Literary Autobiographies of Twentieth-century IrishwomenAlthough there are numerous published studies of Irish literature, and several women's autobiographies, none has combined these areas of study. Literary autobiographies of both women and men have gained popularity and scholarly attention over the last three decades, especially twentieth-century women's autobiographies. This study identifies and examines the Irishwomen's literary autobiography and traces its development through the twentieth century. The opening chapter discusses autobiographical trends prior to the present century in Ireland, and charts major movements in forming the women's autobiography of the twentieth century. Of particular importance are the ways in which the life stories of Irish women writers both affirm and contradict intercultural theories of women's autobiography, how these writers manifest their autobiographical "I" as a deflected entity, and the relevance of class and religious background to the autobiographical voices of women in Ireland. The core discussion of the study focuses on the self-narratives of Lady Augusta Gregory, Katharine Tynan, Mary Colum, Elizabeth Bowen, Kate O'Brien, and Eavan Boland. |
Contents
Lady Gregorys Written Life | 19 |
The Fearless Naiveté | 53 |
Aestheticism and Victorianism | 67 |
Copyright | |
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Anglo-Irish Anne artistic aunts become Bowen's Court career characters Colin Smythe Collected Impressions contemporary convent created creative critical cultural desire Dream Dublin Eavan Boland Elinor Wylie Elizabeth Bowen Emigrant's Notebook essays experience expression Farewell Spain female Feminist fiction Further references listed genre Gerrards Cross Gill and Macmillan Gregory's identified identity individual Ireland Irish Literary Irish Literary Revival Irish literature Irish Review Irish Theatre Irishwomen Irishwomen's literary autobiography John Joyce Kate O'Brien Katharine Tynan Kohfeldt Lady Gregory letters Limerick listed in text lived London Longmans male Mary Colum Maud Gonne Memoirs Memories Michael Longley mother narrative nation non-fiction novels Object Lessons Padraic Colum Pictures and Conversations poem poet poetic poetry portraits Presentation Parlour produced published reader reflects self-narrative self-writings Seven Winters Seventy short stories style Thomas MacDonagh tradition twentieth century University Press Victorian W.B. Yeats woman women writers Women's Autobiography written wrote Yeats's York