The clubwomen's daughters : collectivist impulses in progressive-era girls' fiction / Gwen Athene Tarbox.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tarbox, Gwen Athene., author.

Series:

Garland studies in American popular history and culture.

Garland Studies in American Popular History and Culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Children's stories, American--History and criticism.

Children's stories, American.

Girls in literature.

Young adult fiction, American--History and criticism.

Young adult fiction, American.

Feminism and literature--United States--History--20th century.

Feminism and literature.

Literature and society--United States--History--20th century.

Literature and society.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (175 pages) : illustrations.

Other Title:

Clubwomen's daughters : collectivist impulses in progressive-era girls' fiction, 1890-1940

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon : Routledge, 2013.

Summary:

The author provides an interdisciplinary cultural study of the evolution of Progressive-era girls' peer groups, their representation in popular girls' fiction, and the influence of these communities, both real and fictional, upon young women's lives during the years leading up to the Second World War. The writers featured in this volume were the first generation of New Women, whose ability to enter traditionally male spaces such as the college campus, the playing field, the wilderness, and the office was facilitated by their membership in women's clubs, political and religious organizations, and athletic teams. Eager to promote the idea that same-sex group activities would lead to female empowerment, these clubwomen targeted young girls as their intended audience and developed an idealized fictional portrait of female cooperation that girls could replicate in their own lives. By adding to our knowledge of girls' cultural history, the author gives voice to a segment of the population that was, and still is, at the center of society's debates concerning the appropriate roles for girls and women. Authors discussed include Louisa May Alcott, Emma Dunham Kelley, Laura Lee Hope (psuedonym for Lilian Garis), Carolyn Keene (pseudonym for Mildred Wirt Benson), and Margaret Sutton.

Contents:

ch. 1. Braving "sarcasm and sneers" : the development of the American clubwoman's movement

ch. 2. "The power to set things going" : the rise of the collectivist impulse in American girls' fiction

ch. 3. "Impersonating their citizen brothers" : the college heroine's rehearsal for public life

ch. 4. Four girls at cottage city : spiritual collectivism in Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins' fiction for African-American girls

ch. 5. "'Mama! Come an' see the suffragists!'" : progressive-era girls' outdoor fiction and the public display of the collectivist impulse

ch. 6. The secret of the girl sleuth : the women's community as focal point in depression-era girls' fiction

ch. 7. Epilogue.

Notes:

First published 2000 by Garland Publishing, Inc.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-317-77602-X

1-315-80493-X

0-8153-3537-7

1-317-77603-8

9781315804934

OCLC:

958098033