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Scripture and Poetic Discourse in The Subjection of Women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2020

Susan Hardy Aiken
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Abstract

Although critics have largely overlooked the literary properties of The Subjection of Women, the essay's effectiveness as theory is inseparable from its poetic dimension. To persuade an unsympathetic audience of a radically subversive thesis, Mill weaves into his argument a poetic subtext modeled on the preeminent mythos of the Western world, the biblical account of history from the fall to paradise. At the same time, aware that Scripture has historically been used to authorize patriarchal values, he exploits the self-critical impulse inherent in biblical hermeneutic traditions, formulating a thematics of language, writing, and interpretation that allows him to turn patriarchal discourse against itself. He dismantles the very myth he employs in order to remake it as a vehicle for his liberating vision.

Type
Research Article
Information
PMLA , Volume 98 , Issue 3 , May 1983 , pp. 353 - 373
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1983

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