The Dialogic Self: Reconstructuring Subjectivity in Woolf, Lessing, and Atwood - Tapa dura

Addresses the dilemma of the female subject in these three twentieth-century British women novelists.

The Dialogic Self addresses the dilemma of the female subject whereby women claim empowerment and the right to authorize themselves, yet so resist the aid of patriarchal authority that in undermining all authority they may deny their own. The key to being decisive and creative is to weigh multileveled inner and outer voices pragmatically in response to changing contexts. Analyzing this cross-fertilizing process in the lives and work of Woolf. Lessing, and Atwood yields insights into the benefits and risks of such a self-concept and offers alternatives to feminists, both men and women.