Feline Alter Egos in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Circumstance” and the Poetry of Emily Dickinson
This paper focuses on the role of the feline in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s short story “Circumstance” and three poems by Emily Dickinson (F529, F444, and F1064). In these texts, the feline becomes an alter ego for the woman writer, leading her to reflect upon her status as a female artist in the ni...
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European Association for American Studies
2019-10-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15111 |
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| author | Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau |
| author_facet | Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau |
| author_sort | Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper focuses on the role of the feline in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s short story “Circumstance” and three poems by Emily Dickinson (F529, F444, and F1064). In these texts, the feline becomes an alter ego for the woman writer, leading her to reflect upon her status as a female artist in the nineteenth century in connection to the sentimental culture of the time and to issues such as race, violence and power. At once me and not-me, the feline is racialized in the two writers’ works, and its function is akin to that of the “Africanist other” as defined by Toni Morrison in Playing in the Dark, Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. When the female self is in the claws of the feline, or compared to the feline, she grapples with multiple snares as her voice is entangled within the contradictory impulses she strives to negotiate. Singing from this nest of snares, the female voice that we hear in these texts showcases the complexity, elusiveness and protean capacity of identification of female writers in the nineteenth-century American literary landscape. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2d86abf77e8d4b5e892f8e6841ad97d8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-2d86abf77e8d4b5e892f8e6841ad97d82025-01-06T09:09:49ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362019-10-0114310.4000/ejas.15111Feline Alter Egos in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Circumstance” and the Poetry of Emily DickinsonAdeline Chevrier-BosseauThis paper focuses on the role of the feline in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s short story “Circumstance” and three poems by Emily Dickinson (F529, F444, and F1064). In these texts, the feline becomes an alter ego for the woman writer, leading her to reflect upon her status as a female artist in the nineteenth century in connection to the sentimental culture of the time and to issues such as race, violence and power. At once me and not-me, the feline is racialized in the two writers’ works, and its function is akin to that of the “Africanist other” as defined by Toni Morrison in Playing in the Dark, Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. When the female self is in the claws of the feline, or compared to the feline, she grapples with multiple snares as her voice is entangled within the contradictory impulses she strives to negotiate. Singing from this nest of snares, the female voice that we hear in these texts showcases the complexity, elusiveness and protean capacity of identification of female writers in the nineteenth-century American literary landscape.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15111racepowerviolenceHarriet Prescott SpoffordEmily Dickinsonfelines |
| spellingShingle | Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau Feline Alter Egos in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Circumstance” and the Poetry of Emily Dickinson European Journal of American Studies race power violence Harriet Prescott Spofford Emily Dickinson felines |
| title | Feline Alter Egos in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Circumstance” and the Poetry of Emily Dickinson |
| title_full | Feline Alter Egos in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Circumstance” and the Poetry of Emily Dickinson |
| title_fullStr | Feline Alter Egos in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Circumstance” and the Poetry of Emily Dickinson |
| title_full_unstemmed | Feline Alter Egos in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Circumstance” and the Poetry of Emily Dickinson |
| title_short | Feline Alter Egos in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Circumstance” and the Poetry of Emily Dickinson |
| title_sort | feline alter egos in harriet prescott spofford s circumstance and the poetry of emily dickinson |
| topic | race power violence Harriet Prescott Spofford Emily Dickinson felines |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15111 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT adelinechevrierbosseau felinealteregosinharrietprescottspoffordscircumstanceandthepoetryofemilydickinson |