Jane Elizabeth Dougherty, a Professor in Literature and Digital Humanities, dives into the intricate narratives of Irish women's development from 1916 to 2018. She discusses how these narratives reveal disordered maturation reflective of Ireland's own tumultuous history. Dougherty highlights the lasting influence of James Joyce on female writers and examines the concept of 'belatedness' in literary contributions. The conversation also explores innovative narrative techniques and the evolving representation of women's identities, showcasing key authors and their impact on Irish literature.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Dougherty's Research Journey
Jane Elizabeth Dougherty's interest in Irish female development began at a 1999 seminar where she noticed a gender split in coming-of-age narratives.
This led her from an initial project to a broader study focused specifically on female maturation in Irish literature.
insights INSIGHT
Ireland's National and Female Development
Ireland's national development story parallels Irish female maturation narratives, especially from 1916 to 2018.
Full bodily autonomy for women in 2018 marks a key milestone in Ireland's cultural adulthood.
insights INSIGHT
Foundations: Joyce and Abjection
Joyce is central to Irish coming-of-age stories, influencing and foreclosing later narratives, despite being feminist in some ways.
Kristeva's concept of abjection applies strongly to female subjects who struggle with maternal bonds in their development.
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In this novella, Claire Keegan tells the story of a young girl sent to live with foster parents, John and Edna Kinsella, on a farm in rural Ireland in the summer of 1981. The girl, who is unused to home comforts, finds affection and warmth in the Kinsellas' care and begins to blossom. However, the story is marked by an underlying tension and the eventual revelation of a secret that threatens her newfound happiness. The narrative explores themes of family, belonging, and the profound impact of kindness on a child's life. The book is praised for its sparse yet elegant prose and its ability to evoke powerful emotions through subtle storytelling.
Wild geese
Mary Oliver
This collection features some of Mary Oliver's most renowned poems, including 'Wild Geese,' which was first published in her 1986 collection 'Dream Work.' The poem 'Wild Geese' is a powerful exploration of the human condition, encouraging readers to find their place in the natural world and to embrace their humanity without the need for perfection. Oliver's poetry is characterized by its vivid descriptions of nature and its ability to evoke a sense of wonder and connection to the world around us. Her work often reflects on the beauty and significance of the natural world and how it relates to human experiences of life, death, joy, and despair[2][3][5].
Country Girls
Country Girls
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Edna O'Brien
The dark
The dark
John McGahern
Narrating Irish Female Development, 1916-2018(Edinburgh UP, 2024) studies narratives of Irish female and feminized development, arguing that these postmodern narratives present Irish female maturation as disordered and often deliberately disorderly. The first full-length study of the Irish female coming of age story, the book develops a feminist psychoanalytic narratology, derived from the belated oedipalization of Joyce’s bildungsheld, to read these stories. This study argues that all Irish maturation stories are shaped by the uneven and belated maturation story of the Irish republic itself, which took as its avatar the Irish woman, whose citizenship in that republic was unrealized, as indeed was her citizenship in an Irish republic of letters. Dougherty takes the writing of Irish women as seriously as other critics have taken Joyce’s work.
Discusses texts by James Joyce, John McGahern, Hannah Lynch, Kate O’Brien, Lady Gregory, Maud Gonne, Mary Colum, Elizabeth Bowen, Edna O’Brien, Dervla Murphy, Clare Boylan, Nuala O’Faolain, Eavan Boland, Anne Enright, Claire Keegan, Eimear McBride, Éilís ní Dhuibhne, Melatu Uche Okorie, and Soula Emmanuel
Examines the form, narration, and content of fictional, non-fictional, and national narratives
Develops a feminist psychoanalytic narratology
Synthesizes historical, sociojuridical, feminist, post-colonial, and literary historical narratives of Irish development
Jane Elizabeth Dougherty is Professor in the School of Literature, Writing and Digital Humanities and affiliate faculty in the School of Africana and Multicultural Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Helen Penet is a lecturer in English and Irish Studies at Université de Lille (France).
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