Fairy Tales, Myth, and Psychoanalytic Theory: Feminism and Retelling the Tale by Veronica L. Schanoes

Fairy Tales, Myth, and Psychoanalytic Theory: Feminism and Retelling the Tale by Veronica L. Schanoes was released late in May. Schanoes has been active on SurLaLune over the years, so I was thrilled to see her name come up as the author of a fairy tale related tome. Funny how my training always makes me want to write last names for authors until I know them--then I keep wanting to type Veronica, Veronica, Veronica.

I have a review copy of the book arriving soon and Veronica (!) and I are plotting a guest post from her for the blog. But I wanted to share the book announcement with description and table of contents while we are making that happen.

Book description:

At the same time that 1970s feminist psychoanalytic theorists like Jean Baker Miller and Nancy Chodorow were challenging earlier models that assumed the masculine psyche as the norm for human development and mental/emotional health, writers such as Anne Sexton, Olga Broumass, and Angela Carter were embarked on their own revisionist project to breathe new life into fairy tales and classical myths based on traditional gender roles. Similarly, in the 1990s, second-wave feminist clinicians continued the work begun by Chodorow and Miller, while writers of fantasy that include Terry Windling, Tanith Lee, Terry Pratchett, and Catherynne M. Valente took their inspiration from revisionist authors of the 1970s. As Schanoes shows, these two decades were both particularly fruitful eras for artists and psychoanalytic theorists concerned with issues related to the development of women's sense of self. Putting aside the limitations of both strains of feminist psychoanalytic theory, their influence is undeniable. Schanoes's book posits a new model for understanding both feminist psychoanalytic theory and feminist retellings, one that emphasizes the interdependence of theory and art and challenges the notion that literary revision involves a masculinist struggle with the writer's artistic forbearers.

Contents: Introduction: the mother’s looking-glass; Mother-daughter relationships in theory and text; Revisions of motherhood and daughterhood; Revision and repetition; Through the looking glass: mirrors, fantasy, and reality; Double vision: women and fantasy; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author: Veronica L. Schanoes is Assistant Professor of English at Queens College, CUNY, USA. She works on fairy tales as well as children's literature.

Table of Contents:

Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction: The Mother’s Looking-Glass 1

1 Mother-Daughter Relationships in Theory and Text 15

2 Revisions of Motherhood and Daughterhood 33

3 Revision and Repetition 57

4 Through the Looking Glass: Mirrors, Fantasy, and Reality 85

5 Double Vision: Women and Fantasy 113

Epilogue 141

Bibliography 145

Index 151