I
am fascinated by the inability of most feminist literary
critics to address the empowering role Christianity plays
in the lives of many British women writers. They tend
to see the history of women writers as one in which women
are continually fighting against a repressive, patriarchal
status quo (often represented by established religion),
and they tend to focus on writers who rebel overtly against
the status quo, ignoring anyone who is too "conservative."
They also tend to create, what Margaret Ezell calls, an
"evolutionary narrative" of women's writing
in which women writers become more empowered as British
society moves away from its traditional religious roots.
In my research, I question those assumptions by exploring
the works of Christian women writers who were extremely
popular in their own day but who have been almost entirely
ignored by feminist critics. Rather than taking their
"conservative" values for granted, I look at
how their faith influences their works and how, in many
cases, it was what actually empowered them to publish
their works.
My interests, then, are twofold: I want to help recover
the works of these Christian women writers who have been
ignored by mainstream feminist critics, and I desire to
help create a new conception of the history of British
women writers that is no longer based on this "evolutionary
narrative" but instead considers how, throughout
history, women writers have had to re-negotiate issues
of power as
religious, political, and social ideas have shifted. |
Publications
"Power
and Subversion in Anne Brontë's The Tenant of
Wildfell Hall and Wilkie Collins's The Woman
in White." in Depicting Desire: Gender, Sexuality,
and the Family in Nineteenth-Century Europe: Literary
and Artistic Perspectives. ed. Rachael Langford. New
York: Peter Lang, 2005. 223-37.
"Lessons
from the Medieval Convent: Adelaide Procter's 'A Legend
of Provence'" in Beyond Arthurian Romances and
Gothic Thriller: The Reach of Victorian Medievalism
ed. Loretta M. Holloway and Jennifer A. Palmgren. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. 95-115.
"Revising
Keats's 'The Eve of St. Agnes': The Shift from Dreams
to Reality in Adelaide Procter's 'A Legend of Provence'"
Women's Writing 12.2 (2005): 273-92.
"Christina Georgina Rosetti" in Religion
in Geschichte und Gegenwart 4th ed. Ed. Hans Dieter
Betz, et. al. Tubingen: J.C.G. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 2005.
"Enacting
the Art of Moral Influence: Religion and Social Reform
in the Works of Anne Brontë" Women's Writing
11.3 (2004): 399-419.
"Christianity
and Colonial Discourse in Joanna Baillie's The Bride."
Renascence. 54.3 (2002): 163-76.
"The
Social Constructions of Douglas McGrath's Emma: Earning
a Place on Miss Woodhouse's Globe," Persuasions:
The Jane Austen Journal On-Line, Occasional Papers,
Issue No. 3, Fall 1999.
Presentations
"Converting
the Natives: West Meets East in Hannah More's and Joanna
Baillie's Dramas." Western Regional Meeting on
the Conference on Christianity and Literature, Pepperdine
University, Malibu, CA. March 2006.
"Redefining Gender Roles: Joanna Baillie's Basil
and The Tryal." Marquette University Women's
Studies Conference, Milwaukee, WI. March 2006.
"Enjoying a Spot of Celibacy: Sexual and Artistic
Empowerment in Dorothy L. Sayers' Gaudy Night."
Marquette University Women's Studies Conference, Milwaukee,
WI. March 2005.
"Beginning Where Charlotte Left Off: Visions of
Community in Anne Brontë's
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall." Western
Regional Meeting of the Conference on Christianity and
Literature, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA. January
2005.
"Lessons from the Medieval Convent: Adelaide Procter's
A Legend of Provence" North East Conference
on British Studies, Montreal, Canada. October 2004.
"The Landscape of Her Childhood: Joanna Baillie's
Representation of Scotland in The Phantom."
18th-19th-c. British Women Writers Conference, University
of Georgia, Athens, GA. March 2004.
"Exploring the Process of Sympathetic Curiosity:
From De Monfort to Henriquez." NEMLA, Pittsburgh,
PA. March 2004.
"Historicizing Witchcraft throughout the Ages:
Joanna Baillie and Caryl Churchill."
Hystorical Fictions Conference, University of Wales,
Swansea. August 2003.
"Revising
Keats's 'The Eve of St. Agnes': Adelaide Procter's Commitment
to Social Reform in 'A Legend of Provence'" Marquette
University Women's Studies Conference, Milwaukee, WI.
March 2003.
"Appropriating
Shakespeare's Heroines: Joanna Baillie's The Tryal and
Romiero." 18th-19th-c. British Women Writers Conference,
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX. March 2003.
"'Subverting
the Idealization of the Home': Femininity and the Gothic
in Joanna Baillie's Plays." 18th-19th-c. British
Women Writers Conference, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
April 2002.
"Empowered
by God: Joanna Baillie and the Interpretation of Scripture."
American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies Conference,
Colorado Springs, CO. April 2002.
"Power
and Subversion in Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell
Hall and Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White."
Textual Intersections in the 19th Century Conference,
Cardiff, Wales. July 2001.
"Transforming
Words into Action: Catholicism, Feminism and Social
Reform in Adelaide Procter's Poetry." 18th-19th-c.
British Women Writers Conference, University of Kansas,
Lawrence. March 2001.
"The
Radical Implications of Conservative Theology in the
Works of Joanna Baillie and Anne Brontë."
Beyond Understanding: Re-Considering Knowledge and Belief
Conference at the Townsend Center, UC Berkeley. April
2000.
"Religion,
Morality, and Reform in the Works of Joanna Baillie,
Anne Brontë, and Adelaide Procter." Marquette
University Women's Studies Conference, Milwaukee, WI.
March 2000.
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