%0 Journal Article
%T Shirley Jackson¡¯s Literary Discourse and the Allegation of Feminism as Socio-Cultural Subversion in Mid-Twentieth Century America
%A Gustavo Vargas Cohen
%J Revista e-scrita : Revista do Curso de Letras da UNIABEU
%D 2011
%I UNIABEU
%X Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) managed to combine the dual role of being a woman and a writer in mid-twentieth century American society. This article seeks to unravel some of the intricacies behind this brittle balance. Despite and/or because of her condition as mother and professional her literary achievements as a chronicler of the ¡°Age of Anxiety¡± were laudable and therefore worthy of further investigation. To better understand the historical experience of professional women in that context, a review of post-war US, especially regarding gender roles, ensues not only as historical background but as methodological hotbed for literary analysis. Ms. Jackson¡¯s literary practice helped raise the charges of feminism against her under the allegation of cultural subversion and social sedition. Finally, the question of whether she was indeed a feminist is debated taking intoconsideration her literary discourse, particularly the representations of female characters as discerningly portrayed in her fictional works, correlated to her social and historical milieu.
%K Shirley Jackson
%K gender roles
%K literary historiography.
%U http://www.uniabeu.edu.br/publica/index.php/RE/article/viewFile/212/pdf_91