Generation Chick: Reading Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jessica, 30., and Dies ist kein Liebeslied as Postfeminist Novels

This article examines Helen Fielding’s, Marlene Streeruwitz’s, and Karen Duve’s novels in the context of the literarisches Fräuleinwunder , the generic conventions of chick lit, and postfeminism, relating all three to the globalization of the book publishing industry and its effects on German-langu...

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Main Author: Brenda Bethman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: New Prairie Press 2011-01-01
Series:Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature
Online Access:http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol35/iss1/9
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author Brenda Bethman
author_facet Brenda Bethman
author_sort Brenda Bethman
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description This article examines Helen Fielding’s, Marlene Streeruwitz’s, and Karen Duve’s novels in the context of the literarisches Fräuleinwunder , the generic conventions of chick lit, and postfeminism, relating all three to the globalization of the book publishing industry and its effects on German-language fiction. I argue that Duve’s and Streeruwitz’s texts can be understood as responses to the Anglo-American chick lit that flooded the German-language book market in the 1990s, of which Fielding’s novel is one of the best-known. Close readings situate both German-language novels firmly within the generic conventions of chick lit, and then look at the ways the texts relate to postfeminism, as well as second- and third-wave feminism. I conclude by arguing that our concept of Frauenliteratur should be expanded to include chick lit as well as more overtly political feminist texts.
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spelling doaj.art-7b2297f91734447da361a29022c725c62022-12-21T20:12:34ZengNew Prairie PressStudies in 20th & 21st Century Literature2334-44152011-01-0135110.4148/2334-4415.17435760598Generation Chick: Reading Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jessica, 30., and Dies ist kein Liebeslied as Postfeminist NovelsBrenda BethmanThis article examines Helen Fielding’s, Marlene Streeruwitz’s, and Karen Duve’s novels in the context of the literarisches Fräuleinwunder , the generic conventions of chick lit, and postfeminism, relating all three to the globalization of the book publishing industry and its effects on German-language fiction. I argue that Duve’s and Streeruwitz’s texts can be understood as responses to the Anglo-American chick lit that flooded the German-language book market in the 1990s, of which Fielding’s novel is one of the best-known. Close readings situate both German-language novels firmly within the generic conventions of chick lit, and then look at the ways the texts relate to postfeminism, as well as second- and third-wave feminism. I conclude by arguing that our concept of Frauenliteratur should be expanded to include chick lit as well as more overtly political feminist texts.http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol35/iss1/9
spellingShingle Brenda Bethman
Generation Chick: Reading Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jessica, 30., and Dies ist kein Liebeslied as Postfeminist Novels
Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature
title Generation Chick: Reading Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jessica, 30., and Dies ist kein Liebeslied as Postfeminist Novels
title_full Generation Chick: Reading Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jessica, 30., and Dies ist kein Liebeslied as Postfeminist Novels
title_fullStr Generation Chick: Reading Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jessica, 30., and Dies ist kein Liebeslied as Postfeminist Novels
title_full_unstemmed Generation Chick: Reading Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jessica, 30., and Dies ist kein Liebeslied as Postfeminist Novels
title_short Generation Chick: Reading Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jessica, 30., and Dies ist kein Liebeslied as Postfeminist Novels
title_sort generation chick reading bridget jones s diary jessica 30 and dies ist kein liebeslied as postfeminist novels
url http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol35/iss1/9
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