* Introduction * Feminism, Freudianism, and Female Subjectivity * Dissent in Freud's Ranks * Culture and Feminine Personality * Momism and the Flight from Manhood * Ladies in the Dark * Feminists versus Freud * Feminine Self-in-Relation * The Crisis in Patriarchal Authority * In the Age of the Vanishing Subject * Notes * Acknowledgments * Index
Feminism and psychoanalysis have each been defining moments of this now fading century, and in their tangled relations lie some of its main preoccupations. It takes a historian's eye to unravel this story, and one with the breadth, sympathy, insight, and wit of Mari Jo Buhle to do it justice. Feminism And Its Discontents will undoubtedly stand as the definitive study of the encounter between these two great movements. -- Joel Kovel, Bard College, author of Red Hun
Mari Jo Buhle is William R. Kenan Jr. University Professor Emerita at Brown University.
Where some feminists have been hostile to psychoanalysis, and some
psychoanalysts have been hostile to feminism, Buhle, a MacArthur
Fellow and professor at Brown University, finds them linked in
their quest to understand selfhood, gender identity, family
structures and sexual expression...Feminism and Its Discontents is
an excellent guide to the history of these ideas...The struggles of
feminism and psychoanalysis may be cyclical, but they are far from
over, and far from dull.
*Washington Post Book World*
Buhle's project is to uncover the 'continual conversation' that
feminism and psychoanalysis have had with one another, to show how
they are mutually constitutive. By charting the exchanges between
psychoanalysis and feminism, Feminism and Its Discontents corrects
the common impression that feminist criticisms fell on deaf, if not
disdainful, ears. Buhle takes pains to detail how feminists and
their opponents inside and outside psychoanalysis have set the
terms for key debates...Buhle is an animated and engaged
storyteller. The story she tells--covering nearly a century of the
vicissitudes of psychoanalysis and feminism--is full of twists and
turns, well-chosen anecdotes and occasional double-crosses. The
cast of characters is inspiring, exasperating, remarkable,
mercurial, colorful and sometimes slightly loony. Buhle draws them
with sympathy and a keen eye for the evocative detail...Buhle
writes with zest, touches of humor and energy. Her style is witty
and readable...It is no mean feat to avoid ponderous and technical
language when writing about psychoanalysis, but she manages
it...All told, psychoanalysis and feminism, sometimes in tandem and
sometimes at arm's length, have made vital contributions to the
question of female selfhood. The 'odd couple' of our century, they
share a large part of the responsibility for our particular form of
self-consciousness and for the meaning of individuality in modern
society. Mari Jo Buhle deftly illuminates how together they
advanced the ambiguous and radical project of modern selfhood.
*Women's Review of Books*
Feminism and Its Discontents sets out to unravel the wondrously
complex love-hate relationships between--and within--feminism and
psychoanalysis, which it sees as the two most important movements
of modernity...The twists and tensions in that relationship
highlight the continuous arguments around sexual difference and
their entanglement in the messy conflicts in women's lives between
motherhood and careers, self-realization and gender justice...Buhle
leads her readers through the repeated battles over feminism,
Freudianism and female subjectivity with exceptional clarity and
care. Her book will...serve as a reliable introduction for those
who have scant knowledge of the historical ties binding feminism to
psychoanalysis [and] is also useful for those...who wish to remind
themselves of what they thought they already knew, but may well
have forgotten.
*Radical Philosophy*
Feminism and Its Discontents adds a novel and welcome twist to [the
Freud] conversation, the proposition that feminism was so central
to Freud's Americanization that the quest for gender equality can
be credited with turning psychoanalysis into what we imagine it
always was: an enterprise centered on femininity and female
sexuality...[Buhle's] assertions are as enticing as they are
controversial...The book [is] as relevant for students of feminist
politics as for scholars interested in the history of
psychoanalysis itself.
*Journal of American History*
Buhle provides a masterful and exhaustive narrative of the mutually
reinforcing rise of psychoanalysis and feminism in the US. In doing
this, she debunks the commonly held perception that psychoanalysis
and feminism have had a primarily antagonistic relationship. Her
book will interest anyone, whether scholar or educated lay reader,
interested in American cultural or social history or the historical
relationship between psychoanalysis and feminism.
*Religious Studies Review*
[Buhle] bases her intriguing and expansive historical study on the
premise that feminism and psychoanalytic theory, each in its own
way concerned with understanding the 'self,' developed in
continuous dialogue with each other. The author's captivating,
energetic writing style reflects the often spirited, surprisingly
tenacious relationship of these two theories--from their emergence
as 'unlikely bedpartners of Modernism'; through the shifting
intellectual patterns of this century and the insidious
mother-blaming of the '50s; to the contemporary postmodern paradigm
of subjectivity and selfhood. Combining thorough research and
incisive analysis, Buhle examines the ongoing discourse among
Freudian, new-Freudian, and feminist theorists throughout the
century as well as the endless fascination of popular culture with
the questions of biology versus culture, difference versus
equality. A vital addition to both women's studies and psychology
collections.
*Booklist*
Buhle has bridged the void between feminism and psychoanalysis with
a historian's thorough and penetrating interpretation of theories
and thoughts implicit in 20th-century liberation movements. The
introduction is clearly developed and carefully documented...Each
[chapter] is skillfully organized with extensive references and
notes to motivate the astute scholar...There is no question that
Buhle has adeptly used a multidisciplinary approach to present
ideas and thoughts that give contemporary feminists and
post-Freudians another opportunity for dialogue on the terms
'difference' and 'equality.'
*Choice*
Feminism and Its Discontents covers a dazzling spectrum of thinkers
and polemicists, ranging from Charlotte Perkins Gilman to Barbara
Ehrenreich, with admirable clarity and succinctness. [Buhle's]
reach in terms of American [and French] classical, neo-, and
post-Freudian writing by men and women on women's psychosexual
development is equally impressive...Few scholars would attempt a
comprehensive intellectual history on such a charged topic. Buhle
has done so in this informative scholarly feat.
*Kirkus Reviews*
An exhaustively researched and accessibly written account of the
intersections and collisions between [psychoanalysis and
feminism]...Buhle chronicles the gyrations of history and assesses
how social theory influences culture and vice versa. The result is
far-reaching, and she is at her best when reflecting on how the
mainstream accommodates and interprets the scholarly. Overall, the
text promises a lively overview of the mutual benefits derived from
a critical coalition between psychoanaylsis and feminism. Highly
recommended for all libraries.
*Library Journal*
Feminism and psychoanalysis have each been defining moments of this
now fading century, and in their tangled relations lie some of its
main preoccupations. It takes a historian’s eye to unravel this
story, and one with the breadth, sympathy, insight, and wit of Mari
Jo Buhle to do it justice. Feminism And Its Discontents will
undoubtedly stand as the definitive study of the encounter between
these two great movements.
*Joel Kovel, Bard College, author of Red Hunting in the Promised
Land*
Where some feminists have been hostile to psychoanalysis, and some
psychoanalysts have been hostile to feminism, Buhle, a MacArthur
Fellow and professor at Brown University, finds them linked in
their quest to understand selfhood, gender identity, family
structures and sexual expression...Feminism and Its
Discontents is an excellent guide to the history of these
ideas...The struggles of feminism and psychoanalysis may be
cyclical, but they are far from over, and far from dull. -- Elaine
Showalter * Washington Post Book World *
Buhle's project is to uncover the 'continual conversation' that
feminism and psychoanalysis have had with one another, to show how
they are mutually constitutive. By charting the exchanges between
psychoanalysis and feminism, Feminism and Its Discontents
corrects the common impression that feminist criticisms fell on
deaf, if not disdainful, ears. Buhle takes pains to detail how
feminists and their opponents inside and outside psychoanalysis
have set the terms for key debates...Buhle is an animated and
engaged storyteller. The story she tells--covering nearly a century
of the vicissitudes of psychoanalysis and feminism--is full of
twists and turns, well-chosen anecdotes and occasional
double-crosses. The cast of characters is inspiring, exasperating,
remarkable, mercurial, colorful and sometimes slightly loony. Buhle
draws them with sympathy and a keen eye for the evocative
detail...Buhle writes with zest, touches of humor and energy. Her
style is witty and readable...It is no mean feat to avoid ponderous
and technical language when writing about psychoanalysis, but she
manages it...All told, psychoanalysis and feminism, sometimes in
tandem and sometimes at arm's length, have made vital contributions
to the question of female selfhood. The 'odd couple' of our
century, they share a large part of the responsibility for our
particular form of self-consciousness and for the meaning of
individuality in modern society. Mari Jo Buhle deftly illuminates
how together they advanced the ambiguous and radical project of
modern selfhood. -- Jeanne Marecek * Women's Review of Books *
Feminism and Its Discontents sets out to unravel the
wondrously complex love-hate relationships between--and
within--feminism and psychoanalysis, which it sees as the two most
important movements of modernity...The twists and tensions in that
relationship highlight the continuous arguments around sexual
difference and their entanglement in the messy conflicts in women's
lives between motherhood and careers, self-realization and gender
justice...Buhle leads her readers through the repeated battles over
feminism, Freudianism and female subjectivity with exceptional
clarity and care. Her book will...serve as a reliable introduction
for those who have scant knowledge of the historical ties binding
feminism to psychoanalysis [and] is also useful for those...who
wish to remind themselves of what they thought they already knew,
but may well have forgotten. -- Lynn Segal * Radical Philosophy
*
Feminism and Its Discontents adds a novel and welcome twist
to [the Freud] conversation, the proposition that feminism was so
central to Freud's Americanization that the quest for gender
equality can be credited with turning psychoanalysis into what we
imagine it always was: an enterprise centered on femininity and
female sexuality...[Buhle's] assertions are as enticing as they are
controversial...The book [is] as relevant for students of feminist
politics as for scholars interested in the history of
psychoanalysis itself. -- Ellen Herman * Journal of American
History *
Buhle provides a masterful and exhaustive narrative of the mutually
reinforcing rise of psychoanalysis and feminism in the US. In doing
this, she debunks the commonly held perception that psychoanalysis
and feminism have had a primarily antagonistic relationship. Her
book will interest anyone, whether scholar or educated lay reader,
interested in American cultural or social history or the historical
relationship between psychoanalysis and feminism. -- Mary Ellen
Ross * Religious Studies Review *
[Buhle] bases her intriguing and expansive historical study on the
premise that feminism and psychoanalytic theory, each in its own
way concerned with understanding the 'self,' developed in
continuous dialogue with each other. The author's captivating,
energetic writing style reflects the often spirited, surprisingly
tenacious relationship of these two theories--from their emergence
as 'unlikely bedpartners of Modernism'; through the shifting
intellectual patterns of this century and the insidious
mother-blaming of the '50s; to the contemporary postmodern paradigm
of subjectivity and selfhood. Combining thorough research and
incisive analysis, Buhle examines the ongoing discourse among
Freudian, new-Freudian, and feminist theorists throughout the
century as well as the endless fascination of popular culture with
the questions of biology versus culture, difference versus
equality. A vital addition to both women's studies and psychology
collections. -- Grace Fill * Booklist *
Buhle has bridged the void between feminism and psychoanalysis with
a historian's thorough and penetrating interpretation of theories
and thoughts implicit in 20th-century liberation movements. The
introduction is clearly developed and carefully documented...Each
[chapter] is skillfully organized with extensive references and
notes to motivate the astute scholar...There is no question that
Buhle has adeptly used a multidisciplinary approach to present
ideas and thoughts that give contemporary feminists and
post-Freudians another opportunity for dialogue on the terms
'difference' and 'equality.' -- G.M. Greenberg * Choice *
Feminism and Its Discontents covers a dazzling spectrum of
thinkers and polemicists, ranging from Charlotte Perkins Gilman to
Barbara Ehrenreich, with admirable clarity and succinctness.
[Buhle's] reach in terms of American [and French] classical, neo-,
and post-Freudian writing by men and women on women's psychosexual
development is equally impressive...Few scholars would attempt a
comprehensive intellectual history on such a charged topic. Buhle
has done so in this informative scholarly feat. * Kirkus Reviews
*
An exhaustively researched and accessibly written account of the
intersections and collisions between [psychoanalysis and
feminism]...Buhle chronicles the gyrations of history and assesses
how social theory influences culture and vice versa. The result is
far-reaching, and she is at her best when reflecting on how the
mainstream accommodates and interprets the scholarly. Overall, the
text promises a lively overview of the mutual benefits derived from
a critical coalition between psychoanaylsis and feminism. Highly
recommended for all libraries. -- Eleanor J. Bader * Library
Journal *
Feminism and psychoanalysis have each been defining moments of this
now fading century, and in their tangled relations lie some of its
main preoccupations. It takes a historian's eye to unravel this
story, and one with the breadth, sympathy, insight, and wit of Mari
Jo Buhle to do it justice. Feminism And Its Discontents will
undoubtedly stand as the definitive study of the encounter between
these two great movements. -- Joel Kovel, Bard College, author of
Red Hunting in the Promised Land
"Psychoanalysis and feminism both concern the meaning of individuality in a secular society," writes historian Buhle (American civilization and history, Brown) in her exhaustively researched and accessibly written account of the intersections and collisions between both disciplines. "Psychoanalysis took shape as a clinical or therapeutic method, feminism as a political strategy. The two systems occupied a common domain as theories of human liberation." From Freud's phallocentric pronouncements about sexual drives and the Oedipal complex; to first-wave feminists who elevated maternity and envisioned a female utopia devoid of male interference; to the post-World War II "momist" backlash that blamed women for every conceivable social ill, Buhle chronicles the gyrations of history and assesses how social theory influences culture and vice versa. The result is a fascinating look at the 20th century. Buhle's breadth of vision is far-reaching, and she is at her best when reflecting on how the mainstream accommodates and interprets the scholarly. Overall, the text provides a lively overview of the mutual benefits derived from a critical coalition between psychoanalysis and feminism. Highly recommended for all libraries.ÄEleanor J. Bader, New Sch. for Social Research, New York, NY
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