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Anonymous Women Writers

Liz Herbert McAvoy

The History of British Women's Writing. Vol. 1 700-1500

Swansea University Author: Liz Herbert McAvoy

Abstract

This essay examines a range of anonymous texts in the Middle Ages in which the voice is determinedly female but which have traditionally been attributed to male authorship. The essay argues that, regardless of the gender of the author, the texts deserve to be considered as 'women's writing...

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Published in: The History of British Women's Writing. Vol. 1 700-1500
Published: London Palgrave Macmillan 2012
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa12049
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Abstract: This essay examines a range of anonymous texts in the Middle Ages in which the voice is determinedly female but which have traditionally been attributed to male authorship. The essay argues that, regardless of the gender of the author, the texts deserve to be considered as 'women's writing' in many ways, because of their offering up the possibility for female subjectivity and authoritative voice, either by means of female authorship or by an act of convincing - and empathetic - male ventriloquism.
Keywords: Women's writing; literary history; gender history; medieval
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences