Dangling between Deity and Humanity: Exiles in Kate O'Brien's Novels
Journal
中外文學
Journal Volume
34
Journal Issue
9
Pages
139-158
Date Issued
2006-02
Date
2006-02
Author(s)
Abstract
Since the 1980s, feminist Irish critics have been highly critical of the formulation of the Irish literary canon, in that their male peers often address issues that do not particularly concern women's experiences. However, much earlier than the 1980s, Kate O'Brien (1897-1974), a censored Irish woman writer who mostly lived abroad, had written prolifically about her mother country from an exile's viewpoint. Despite being a Catholic, her novels and essays are not indulgent of her fellow countrymen and women, but often expose, unrelentingly, their insularity and the privation of individuality, as well as the oppression of sexualities in a highly puritanical and politicized society. This article will, on the one hand, explore how her protagonists challenge the boundaries of nation and gender in attempting to emancipate their mentalities and bodies. On the other hand, it will examine how O'Brien questions the concept of “Irishness,” as defined by male politicians and clergy at the time she was writing. Noticeably, her contribution counterbalances the traditional literary canon which has long mirrored male interests. Her exile, most importantly, has initiated a dialogue between the mainstream and minority groups in Irish society, between literary works inside and outside the canon, and between feminists and churchmen.
Subjects
凱特‧歐布萊恩
典律
愛爾蘭民族主義
天主教
新聞檢查
流放
同性戀
Kate O'Brien
canon
Irish nationalism
Catholicism
censorship
exile
homosexuality
SDGs
Type
journal article
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