DOG WOMAN AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE MATERNAL INSTINCT
In Sexing the Cherry, Jeanette Winterson’s Dog Woman is a gigantesque weapon yielding force to be reckoned with. As the title teases with the notion of gendering within language, both her physical appearance and actions beg for a reevaluation of what has been defined as both maternal and instinct...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Bucharest University Press
2022-02-01
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| Series: | University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/HeatherBrownHudson.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797642374189416448 |
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| author | Heather Brown Hudson |
| author_facet | Heather Brown Hudson |
| author_sort | Heather Brown Hudson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Sexing the Cherry, Jeanette Winterson’s Dog Woman is a gigantesque
weapon yielding force to be reckoned with. As the title teases with the notion of
gendering within language, both her physical appearance and actions beg for a
reevaluation of what has been defined as both maternal and instinctual. She is at
once a stable and loving, yet in order to protect her son from harm, she revolts
against the powers that be and oscillates between time and place in both a selfmade utopia as well as a force-fed dystopia. To her son, she is shelter, to her
enemies, menacing and elusive. What, I am always curious when I teach the novel
in class, is Dog Woman to the reader? Winterson’s focus on the biology of this
character is paramount. The rendering of Dog Woman’s ‘self’ in writing is a multifaceted project for Winterson, and before terminology such as ‘hybrid,’ or ‘border
identity’ emerge, Dog Woman embodies many selves in one, and defies almost all
categorization. Pulling from modern literary and philosophical theory, my
discussion does address the possibility of whether Dog Woman ever actually
appropriates the maternal. My position remains, however, that Winterson may
have succeeded in inscribing a new maternal mode onto the literary and cultural
consciousness of our time. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:59:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f884a7d4d2745b6b2f4c72095ec8954 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2734-5963 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:59:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Bucharest University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series |
| spelling | doaj.art-6f884a7d4d2745b6b2f4c72095ec89542023-11-02T05:05:31ZengBucharest University PressUniversity of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series2734-59632022-02-01II/20121DOG WOMAN AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE MATERNAL INSTINCTHeather Brown HudsonIn Sexing the Cherry, Jeanette Winterson’s Dog Woman is a gigantesque weapon yielding force to be reckoned with. As the title teases with the notion of gendering within language, both her physical appearance and actions beg for a reevaluation of what has been defined as both maternal and instinctual. She is at once a stable and loving, yet in order to protect her son from harm, she revolts against the powers that be and oscillates between time and place in both a selfmade utopia as well as a force-fed dystopia. To her son, she is shelter, to her enemies, menacing and elusive. What, I am always curious when I teach the novel in class, is Dog Woman to the reader? Winterson’s focus on the biology of this character is paramount. The rendering of Dog Woman’s ‘self’ in writing is a multifaceted project for Winterson, and before terminology such as ‘hybrid,’ or ‘border identity’ emerge, Dog Woman embodies many selves in one, and defies almost all categorization. Pulling from modern literary and philosophical theory, my discussion does address the possibility of whether Dog Woman ever actually appropriates the maternal. My position remains, however, that Winterson may have succeeded in inscribing a new maternal mode onto the literary and cultural consciousness of our time.http://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/HeatherBrownHudson.pdfmaternalbodyinstinctmothergender |
| spellingShingle | Heather Brown Hudson DOG WOMAN AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE MATERNAL INSTINCT University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series maternal body instinct mother gender |
| title | DOG WOMAN AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE MATERNAL INSTINCT |
| title_full | DOG WOMAN AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE MATERNAL INSTINCT |
| title_fullStr | DOG WOMAN AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE MATERNAL INSTINCT |
| title_full_unstemmed | DOG WOMAN AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE MATERNAL INSTINCT |
| title_short | DOG WOMAN AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE MATERNAL INSTINCT |
| title_sort | dog woman and the complexities of the maternal instinct |
| topic | maternal body instinct mother gender |
| url | http://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/HeatherBrownHudson.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT heatherbrownhudson dogwomanandthecomplexitiesofthematernalinstinct |