The author has marshaled an impressive body of evidence to show that madness was generally regarded as a female malady throughout the 19th Century. Though her hourglass approach owes a great deal to Chesler’s 1972 book, “Women and Madness,” Showalter not only turns her attention beyond America to England, but also extends the fictional metaphors used by Gilbert and Guber in their close examination of Victorian images in “The Madwoman in the Attic.” Limiting herself to the years between 18, Showalter investigates biography, letters, and the fine and lively arts as well as actual case histories, creating a concise history of psychiatry from a feminist standpoint. The Female Malady by Elaine Showalter (Pantheon Books: $19.95)Īfter gracefully acknowledging her debt to professional colleagues who have previously written on this provocative theme, Showalter both broadens and narrows the field.
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