The Female Malady: Women, Madness and English Culture 1830-1980

Published in 1985
308 pages

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Elaine Showalter is an American literary critic, feminist, and writer on cultural and social issues. She is one of the founders of feminist literary criticism in United States academia, developing the concept and practice of gynocritics.

She is well known and respected in both academic and popular cultural fields. She has written and edited numerous books and articles focussed on a variety of subjects, from feminist literary criticism to fashion, sometimes sparking widespread controversy, especially with her work on illnesses. Showalter has been a television critic for People magazine and a commentator on BBC radio and television.

What is this book about?
A vital counter-interpretation of madness in women, showing how it is often a consequence of, rather than a deviation from, the traditional female role.