“She Loves Nothing but Her Art”: Vibrant Marble and the Agency of the Female Artist in Louisa May Alcott’s “A Marble Woman, or The Mysterious Model”
At first glance, “A Marble Woman” (1865) seems to offer but a trite marriage plot, assuaging Louisa May Alcott’s contemporary readers while containing the heroine’s scandalous abilities. On a second and read through a new materialist critical lens, it becomes apparent how cunningly the female sculpt...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2022-10-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/18753 |
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| author | Verena Laschinger Annemarie Mönch and Sophia Klefisch |
| author_facet | Verena Laschinger Annemarie Mönch and Sophia Klefisch |
| author_sort | Verena Laschinger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | At first glance, “A Marble Woman” (1865) seems to offer but a trite marriage plot, assuaging Louisa May Alcott’s contemporary readers while containing the heroine’s scandalous abilities. On a second and read through a new materialist critical lens, it becomes apparent how cunningly the female sculptor Cecil negotiates her creativity with the societal demands on the true woman and the marriage doctrine of her time. The sensational story’s twist reveals the female protagonist’s masterful manipulation of her guardian-husband Yorke who was, just as the reader, under the assumption that he was the one molding her to his needs. The protagonist’s true artistry, we realize, is not static sculpture but vibrant performance which renders her simultaneously as woman and marble, artist and an artwork. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1476325c633148ed8c17ea99307591bb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-1476325c633148ed8c17ea99307591bb2025-01-06T09:08:29ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362022-10-0117310.4000/ejas.18753“She Loves Nothing but Her Art”: Vibrant Marble and the Agency of the Female Artist in Louisa May Alcott’s “A Marble Woman, or The Mysterious Model”Verena LaschingerAnnemarie Mönchand Sophia KlefischAt first glance, “A Marble Woman” (1865) seems to offer but a trite marriage plot, assuaging Louisa May Alcott’s contemporary readers while containing the heroine’s scandalous abilities. On a second and read through a new materialist critical lens, it becomes apparent how cunningly the female sculptor Cecil negotiates her creativity with the societal demands on the true woman and the marriage doctrine of her time. The sensational story’s twist reveals the female protagonist’s masterful manipulation of her guardian-husband Yorke who was, just as the reader, under the assumption that he was the one molding her to his needs. The protagonist’s true artistry, we realize, is not static sculpture but vibrant performance which renders her simultaneously as woman and marble, artist and an artwork.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/18753marriageagencyfemale artistAlcottnew materialismmarble |
| spellingShingle | Verena Laschinger Annemarie Mönch and Sophia Klefisch “She Loves Nothing but Her Art”: Vibrant Marble and the Agency of the Female Artist in Louisa May Alcott’s “A Marble Woman, or The Mysterious Model” European Journal of American Studies marriage agency female artist Alcott new materialism marble |
| title | “She Loves Nothing but Her Art”: Vibrant Marble and the Agency of the Female Artist in Louisa May Alcott’s “A Marble Woman, or The Mysterious Model” |
| title_full | “She Loves Nothing but Her Art”: Vibrant Marble and the Agency of the Female Artist in Louisa May Alcott’s “A Marble Woman, or The Mysterious Model” |
| title_fullStr | “She Loves Nothing but Her Art”: Vibrant Marble and the Agency of the Female Artist in Louisa May Alcott’s “A Marble Woman, or The Mysterious Model” |
| title_full_unstemmed | “She Loves Nothing but Her Art”: Vibrant Marble and the Agency of the Female Artist in Louisa May Alcott’s “A Marble Woman, or The Mysterious Model” |
| title_short | “She Loves Nothing but Her Art”: Vibrant Marble and the Agency of the Female Artist in Louisa May Alcott’s “A Marble Woman, or The Mysterious Model” |
| title_sort | she loves nothing but her art vibrant marble and the agency of the female artist in louisa may alcott s a marble woman or the mysterious model |
| topic | marriage agency female artist Alcott new materialism marble |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/18753 |
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