Willa Cather, queering America /
Lindemann, Marilee.
Willa Cather, queering America / Marilee Lindemann. - New York : Columbia University Press, ©1999. - 1 online resource (xvi, 185 pages) : illustrations - Between men--between women . - Between men--between women. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-179) and index.
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Note on Texts and List of Abbreviations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: The Novelist, the Critic, and the "Queer" -- PART I. Fear of a Queer Prairie: Figures of the Body and/ as the Nation in the Letters and Early Novels -- 1. Driving One-Handed: The Law, the Letter, and the Unsanctioned Voice -- 2. "Filling Out Nice": Body-Building and Nation-Building in the Early Novels -- PART II. Queering the "Classics": Willa Cather and the Literary History of the United States -- 3. "In a Prohibition Country": The Culture Wars of the 1920s -- 4. Comrades and Countrymen: Queer Love and a Dream of "America" -- Conclusion: Queer (R)Age-Notes on the Late Fiction and the Queering of the World -- Notes -- Works Cited -- Index.
Although it has been proven posthumously by scholars that Willa Cather had lesbian relationships, she did not openly celebrate lesbian desire, and even today is sometimes described as homophobic and misogynistic. What, then, can a reassessment of this contentious first lady of American letters add to an understanding of the gay identities that have emerged in America over the past century? As Marilee Lindemann shows in this study of the novelist's life and work, Cather's sexual coming-of-age occurred at a time when a cultural transition was recasting love between women as sexual deviance rather than romantic friendship. At the same time, the very identity of "America" was characterized by great instability as the United States emerged as a modern industrial nation and imperial power. Indeed, both terms, "queer" and "America," achieved fresh ideological potency at the turn of the century. Willa Cather: Queering America is an enlightening unpacking of Cather's writings, from her controversial love letters of the 1890s--in which "queer" is employed to denote sexual deviance--to her epic novels, short stories, and critical writings. Lindemann points to the "queer" qualities of Cather's fiction--rebellion against traditional fictional form, with sometimes unlikable characters, lack of emphasis on heroic action, and lack of engagement in the drama of heterosexual desire.
English.
0231500270 (electronic bk.) 9780231500272 (electronic bk.) 1282871846 9781282871847 9780231113250 0231113250 9786612871849 6612871849 0231113242 (cloth : acid-free paper) 9780231113243
10.7312/lind11324 doi
22573/ctt272jhh JSTOR
98029688
Cather, Willa, 1873-1947 --Views on sexual orientation.
Cather, Willa, 1873-1947
1900-1999
Homosexuality and literature--History--United States--20th century.
Feminism and literature--History--United States--20th century.
Women and literature--History--United States--20th century.
Lesbians--Intellectual life.--United States
Love-letters--History.
Sexual orientation in literature.
Homosexualité et littérature--Histoire--États-Unis--20e siècle.
Femmes et littérature--Histoire--États-Unis--20e siècle.
Lesbiennes--Vie intellectuelle.--États-Unis
Lettres d'amour--Histoire.
Orientation sexuelle dans la littérature.
LITERARY CRITICISM--American--General.
Feminism and literature.
Homosexuality and literature.
Lesbians--Intellectual life.
Love-letters.
Sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation in literature.
Women and literature.
American Literature.
English.
Languages & Literatures.
United States.
Electronic books.
Electronic books.
History.
PS3505.A87 / Z724 1999eb
813/.52
Willa Cather, queering America / Marilee Lindemann. - New York : Columbia University Press, ©1999. - 1 online resource (xvi, 185 pages) : illustrations - Between men--between women . - Between men--between women. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-179) and index.
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Note on Texts and List of Abbreviations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: The Novelist, the Critic, and the "Queer" -- PART I. Fear of a Queer Prairie: Figures of the Body and/ as the Nation in the Letters and Early Novels -- 1. Driving One-Handed: The Law, the Letter, and the Unsanctioned Voice -- 2. "Filling Out Nice": Body-Building and Nation-Building in the Early Novels -- PART II. Queering the "Classics": Willa Cather and the Literary History of the United States -- 3. "In a Prohibition Country": The Culture Wars of the 1920s -- 4. Comrades and Countrymen: Queer Love and a Dream of "America" -- Conclusion: Queer (R)Age-Notes on the Late Fiction and the Queering of the World -- Notes -- Works Cited -- Index.
Although it has been proven posthumously by scholars that Willa Cather had lesbian relationships, she did not openly celebrate lesbian desire, and even today is sometimes described as homophobic and misogynistic. What, then, can a reassessment of this contentious first lady of American letters add to an understanding of the gay identities that have emerged in America over the past century? As Marilee Lindemann shows in this study of the novelist's life and work, Cather's sexual coming-of-age occurred at a time when a cultural transition was recasting love between women as sexual deviance rather than romantic friendship. At the same time, the very identity of "America" was characterized by great instability as the United States emerged as a modern industrial nation and imperial power. Indeed, both terms, "queer" and "America," achieved fresh ideological potency at the turn of the century. Willa Cather: Queering America is an enlightening unpacking of Cather's writings, from her controversial love letters of the 1890s--in which "queer" is employed to denote sexual deviance--to her epic novels, short stories, and critical writings. Lindemann points to the "queer" qualities of Cather's fiction--rebellion against traditional fictional form, with sometimes unlikable characters, lack of emphasis on heroic action, and lack of engagement in the drama of heterosexual desire.
English.
0231500270 (electronic bk.) 9780231500272 (electronic bk.) 1282871846 9781282871847 9780231113250 0231113250 9786612871849 6612871849 0231113242 (cloth : acid-free paper) 9780231113243
10.7312/lind11324 doi
22573/ctt272jhh JSTOR
98029688
Cather, Willa, 1873-1947 --Views on sexual orientation.
Cather, Willa, 1873-1947
1900-1999
Homosexuality and literature--History--United States--20th century.
Feminism and literature--History--United States--20th century.
Women and literature--History--United States--20th century.
Lesbians--Intellectual life.--United States
Love-letters--History.
Sexual orientation in literature.
Homosexualité et littérature--Histoire--États-Unis--20e siècle.
Femmes et littérature--Histoire--États-Unis--20e siècle.
Lesbiennes--Vie intellectuelle.--États-Unis
Lettres d'amour--Histoire.
Orientation sexuelle dans la littérature.
LITERARY CRITICISM--American--General.
Feminism and literature.
Homosexuality and literature.
Lesbians--Intellectual life.
Love-letters.
Sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation in literature.
Women and literature.
American Literature.
English.
Languages & Literatures.
United States.
Electronic books.
Electronic books.
History.
PS3505.A87 / Z724 1999eb
813/.52