Gendered Geographies of the European East in the American Cold-War Literary Imaginary
In the American Cold-War imaginary, the representation of Eastern Europe was strongly influenced by male intellectuals and writers from the region, whose works were celebrated in the US not only for their artistic merits but most of all for their political import. As prominent émigrés like Czesław M...
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European Association for American Studies
2023-11-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/20991 |
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| author | Martyna Bryla |
| author_facet | Martyna Bryla |
| author_sort | Martyna Bryla |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the American Cold-War imaginary, the representation of Eastern Europe was strongly influenced by male intellectuals and writers from the region, whose works were celebrated in the US not only for their artistic merits but most of all for their political import. As prominent émigrés like Czesław Miłosz explained the region to the Western intellectual public, native-born authors like Philip Roth contributed to shaping the Eastern European literary canon in the US by promoting Kafka, Konwicki, Kundera and other undeniably great if predominantly male authors. In this essay, I take a closer look at the imaginative geographies of the European East in the texts by John Updike, Philip Roth, Joyce Carol Oates, Patricia Hampl, and Eva Hoffman. I argue that while these imaginative geographies are indeed typified by a male figure, which frequently oscillates between the opposite poles of dissidence and conformism, the female figures should not be overlooked. The portrayal of women in the texts under study uncovers (and at times challenges) the fantasies, fears and concerns driving the East-West encounters which these texts dramatize, while at the same time providing interesting insights into gender and social dynamics behind and beyond the Iron Curtain. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6b5847b40d134e96b26f1aa1d4948066 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-6b5847b40d134e96b26f1aa1d49480662025-01-06T09:08:11ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362023-11-0118410.4000/ejas.20991Gendered Geographies of the European East in the American Cold-War Literary ImaginaryMartyna BrylaIn the American Cold-War imaginary, the representation of Eastern Europe was strongly influenced by male intellectuals and writers from the region, whose works were celebrated in the US not only for their artistic merits but most of all for their political import. As prominent émigrés like Czesław Miłosz explained the region to the Western intellectual public, native-born authors like Philip Roth contributed to shaping the Eastern European literary canon in the US by promoting Kafka, Konwicki, Kundera and other undeniably great if predominantly male authors. In this essay, I take a closer look at the imaginative geographies of the European East in the texts by John Updike, Philip Roth, Joyce Carol Oates, Patricia Hampl, and Eva Hoffman. I argue that while these imaginative geographies are indeed typified by a male figure, which frequently oscillates between the opposite poles of dissidence and conformism, the female figures should not be overlooked. The portrayal of women in the texts under study uncovers (and at times challenges) the fantasies, fears and concerns driving the East-West encounters which these texts dramatize, while at the same time providing interesting insights into gender and social dynamics behind and beyond the Iron Curtain.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/20991Cold WarUScommunismgendered geographiesEastern Europedissidence |
| spellingShingle | Martyna Bryla Gendered Geographies of the European East in the American Cold-War Literary Imaginary European Journal of American Studies Cold War US communism gendered geographies Eastern Europe dissidence |
| title | Gendered Geographies of the European East in the American Cold-War Literary Imaginary |
| title_full | Gendered Geographies of the European East in the American Cold-War Literary Imaginary |
| title_fullStr | Gendered Geographies of the European East in the American Cold-War Literary Imaginary |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gendered Geographies of the European East in the American Cold-War Literary Imaginary |
| title_short | Gendered Geographies of the European East in the American Cold-War Literary Imaginary |
| title_sort | gendered geographies of the european east in the american cold war literary imaginary |
| topic | Cold War US communism gendered geographies Eastern Europe dissidence |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/20991 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT martynabryla genderedgeographiesoftheeuropeaneastintheamericancoldwarliteraryimaginary |