Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature Pdf Summary
From a writer of astonishing versatility and erudition, the much-admired literary critic, novelist, short-story writer, and scholar (“Dazzling”—The Washington Post; “One of those rare writers who seems to be able to work on any register, any time, any atmosphere, and make it her own” —TheObserver), a book that explores the little-known literary tradition of love between women in Western literature, from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Charlotte Brontë, Dickens, Agatha Christie, and many more.
Emma Donoghue brings to bear all her knowledge and grasp to examine how desire between women in English literature has been portrayed, from schoolgirls and vampires to runaway wives, from cross-dressing knights to contemporary murder stories. Donoghue looks at the work of those writers who have addressed the “unspeakable subject,” examining whether such desire between women is freakish or omnipresent, holy or evil, heartwarming or ridiculous as she excavates a long-obscured tradition of (inseparable) friendship between women, one that is surprisingly central to our cultural history.
Donoghue writes about the half-dozen contrasting girl-girl plots that have been told and retold over the centuries, metamorphosing from generation to generation. What interests the author are the twists and turns of the plots themselves and how these stories have changed—or haven’t—over the centuries, rather than how they reflect their time and society.
Donoghue explores the writing of Sade, Diderot, Balzac, Thomas Hardy, H. Rider Haggard, Elizabeth Bowen, and others and the ways in which the woman who desires women has been cast as not quite human, as ghost or vampire.
She writes about the ever-present triangle, found in novels and plays from the last three centuries, in which a woman and man compete for the heroine’s love . . . about how—and why—same-sex attraction is surprisingly ubiquitous in crime fiction, from the work of Wilkie Collins and Dorothy L. Sayers to P. D. James.
Finally, Donoghue looks at the plotline that has dominated writings about desire between women since the late nineteenth century: how a woman’s life is turned upside down by the realization that she desires another woman, whether she comes to terms with this discovery privately, “comes out of the closet,” or is publicly “outed.”
She shows how this narrative pattern has remained popular and how it has taken many forms, in the works of George Moore, Radclyffe Hall, Patricia Highsmith, and Rita Mae Brown, from case-history-style stories and dramas, in and out of the courtroom, to schoolgirl love stories and rebellious picaresques.
A revelation of a centuries-old literary tradition—brilliant, amusing, and until now, deliberately overlooked.
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Inseparable Review
5.0 out of 5 stars Lucid, Accessible and an Indispensable Resource
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2013
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Donoghue has hit the trifecta here with a literary analysis of lesbianism that is lucid, easy to understand and an indispensable resource for further reading and research.
“Inseparable” is broad in scope, covering over a millennium of literature, yet is admirably focused in its themes and discussion. I join others in praising the organization of the subject matter and the clear manner in which it is written. There is very little of the arcane language and abstract theorizing that mar so much literary criticism. The writing is accessible to general readers.
The depth of sources that Donoghue mines for this book is amazing. The detailed notes at the end contain a treasure trove of references to hundreds of additional stories and novels, many rescued from obscurity. Not only are there hundreds of new references to lesbian texts but Donoghue has actually done some of the first translations from French to English. These sources and translations are a major public service.
I’m a big fan of Donoghue’s work and enjoy learning more about her, so some of the personal observations she makes add icing to the cake. How delightful to read that Donoghue `scared myself stiff’ (like most of us) reading Sarah Waters’ Affinity on a transatlantic flight. Or her admission that when it comes to the ongoing academic debate over essentialism v. constructionism, which “verg[es] on silliness,” the premise of “Inseparable” probably marks her as an essentialist, “but I hope not a silly one.”
4.0 out of 5 stars Unrecognized History – Donoghue’s somewhat academic but very interesting view of the desire between women in literature
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2011
How were women’s relationships depicted in plays, dramas, poetry, and novels before the 21st Century? In “Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature,” Emma Donoghue reveals that, although rarely pointed out, authors have shown “desire between women” as accidental, mildly erotic, predatory, thoughtful, and, of course, lusty and lesbian. Both male and female authors of diverse sexual orientations have acknowledged these desires, making the attraction between women an identifiable plot point for the last 1000 years.
Donoghue’s well researched book defines six plot motifs and then uses a wide variety of works to demonstrate her categories. She uses well known authors (Shakespeare, Charlotte Brontë, D. H. Lawerence, and Virginia Woolf); less well read but identifiable authors (Chaucer, Ovid in translation, Wilkie Collins, and Anthony Trollope), and some obscure authors (you’ll have your own list of authors to research) to round out her categories. I liked this book because it was scholarly but made its arguments with non-academic prose, but I recognize that “Inseparable” is not an easy read and, because of its breadth of knowledge, can sometimes seem to wander.
Emma Donoghue was born in Ireland, educated in Ireland and England, and now lives in Canada. She is a novelist, short story writer, playwright, and literary historian. Among her many novels are the popular “Slammerkin” (which takes places in the mid-1700’s), the well reviewed “The Sealed Letter” (which takes place in the 1860’s), and the contemporary novel “Room,” which was short-listed for the 2010 Man Booker Prize and is currently a best seller. Her historical analysis “Inseparable” was published last year before Room exploded into popular consciousness.
After a short introduction, the six main chapters of “Inseparable” describe and offer examples of different types of desire between women.
Chapter One, “Travesties,” shows examples of cross-dressing that result in unintentional same-sex desire. When women cross-dress, she calls the effect “The Female Bridegroom” (think Yentl). When men cross dress, the result is “The Male Amazon” (think Tootsie). Because much of this chapter relies on her earliest sources, such as translations of Ovid, much of the discussion requires lengthy plot descriptions that can obscure some of the most interesting information.
Chapter Two, “Inseparables,” portrays the situation when two passionate friends must struggle to stay together. She begins with an eye-opening analysis of the Biblical story of Ruth. A major topic of this chapter centers on jealousies, including cases when two close women are turned into rivals and one woman allows the other to join a man in marriage.
Chapter Three, “Rivals,” covers the situation when both a man and a woman compete for a woman’s heart. This investigation includes Choderlos de Laclos’ “Dangerous Liaisons” and Henry James’ “The Bostonians.”
Chapter Four, “Monsters,” describes relationships in which a wicked woman tries to seduce and destroy an innocent woman, including sex fiends and unknown enemies. This discussion also includes ghosts and Joseph Sheridan le Fanu’s “Carmilla,” who turns out to be a vampire.
Chapter Five, “Detection,” includes examples of female detectives and cases when the discovery of a crime turns out to be a same-sex desire. The authors presented in this chapter include Agatha Christie and Sarah Waters (with whom Donoghue shares a number of interesting characteristics, as they are both British and often write heavily researched historical novels with lesbian themes).
Chapter Six, “Out,” outlines plots in which a woman’s life is changed when she realizes that she loves her own sex. Unlike some of the earlier chapters, most of these stories are (out of historical necessity) modern. This chapter includes enlightening discussions of Lillian Hellman’s “The Children’s Hour” and Patricia Highsmith’s “The Price of Salt.”
Each chapter includes several interesting illustrations, taken from books and book jackets, that add to the textual examples and offer pleasant fuel to keep the academic tone at bay.
For general readers, I highly recommend Donoghue’s historical lesbian-themed novels “Slammerkin” and “The Sealed Letter,” as well as her imaginative new novel “Room.” For readers looking for an interesting but slightly academic history of women’s desires in literature, “Inseparable” offers a clear view to which you can add your own examples. After you’ve read it, you’ll pull “Inseparable” off the shelf, either physically or mentally, to identify the previously unrecognized varieties of women’s relationships and passions that continue to appear in novels, movies, and TV shows today. (This review originally appeared on the Lambda Literary site.)
About Emma Donoghue Author Of Inseparable pdf Book
Emma Donoghue the author of Inseparable pdf book grew up in Ireland, 20s in England doing a PhD in eighteenth-century literature, since then in Canada. Best known for my novel, film and play ROOM, also other contemporary and historical novels and short stories, non-fiction, theatre and middle-grade novels.
Inseparable pdf, Paperback, Hardcover Book Information
- Publisher : Knopf; 1st edition (May 25, 2010)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0307270947
- ISBN-13 : 978-0307270948
- Item Weight : 1.34 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.75 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,705,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #180 in LGBTQ+ Literary Criticism (Books)
- #8,009 in Literary Criticism & Theory
- Customer Reviews: 4.3 out of 5 stars 24 ratings
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