Finding the Plot: A Maternal Approach to Madness in Literature

Over the past fifty years, feminist literary criticism has become theoretical rather than practical, severing any relationship between literary analysis and the real lived experiences of women. An example of this disconnect is the way in which the madwoman in feminist literature has become a lauded icon of liberation, when in reality her situation would be seen as anything but empowered. Finding the Plot takes this example to task, arguing that in fact any interpretation of women’s madness as subversive reinforces the very gender stereotypes that feminist literary criticism should be calling into question.

About the Author :
Dr. Megan Rogers is a tutor and researcher in the Media and Communications Department of RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. An award-winning creative writer, her research focuses on the intersection between myth criticism, feminist literary theory, and maternal studies or, in ordinary language, the ways in which the practice of storytelling can enrich our lives.

Review :
A truly wonderful addition to both the scholarly and creative market. This book is not only groundbreaking in its theoretical propositions, but is also significant in its contribution to creative practice. The ideas behind the concept of the maternal journey are rigorous and well argued, and the resulting model for writers and story creators is a much needed addition to the creative canon. Dr Rogers will find herself sitting comfortably alongside the likes of Campbell, Vogler, and Murdock with this book!' -Associate Professor Craig Batty, author of Movies That Move Us: Screenwriting and the Power of the Protagonist's Journey. This extraordinary work seeks to heal the divisions between feminist literary critics in terms of how they understand madness, the interrupted heroic journey, "empowered (non-biological) maternalism" and transformation. Rogers brings an enormous erudition to bear on the compelling, controversial, and unresolved questions about fictional mad women in the attic, in the insane asylum, and in life, and what relationship they have and might have to both their critics and readers. -Phyllis Chesler, author of New York Times bestseller Women and Madness. In this bold work of third-wave feminist literary criticism, Megan Rogers argues for a new way forward for fictional protagonists in feminist novels. She asks provocatively: ?When did happy endings become so un-feminist In addition, Megan Rogers has created a new concept ? that of the ?eternal madwoman? ? and through her close reading of four of the best-loved mad-woman-in-the-attic novels (The Bell Jar, Wide Sargasso Sea, Surfacing and The Woman Upstairs) she encourages readers, novelists and critics alike to envisage the possibility of cathartic ?happy endings both in literature and in life. Megan Rogers asks readers, novelists and literary critics to re-evaluate a very old-fashioned term (one that has been devalued and is now ripe for renovation): the ?message? of a novel. Her powerful call to arms is to assert that readers, novelists and critics could find a use for theory ?to better the lives of everyday women?. Provocatively, Megan Rogers asks: Do we really want our daughters to be told that that being stuck in an attic in a state of madness and silence is an act of feminist rebelliousness? As an alternative Megan Rogers envisages the possibility of a fictional (or a real) woman (one in pain) undertaking an emancipatory journey, out of ?stuckness? and silence, towards a heroic ascent. For Megan Rogers, finding the plot means a rejection of the valorisation of the madwoman in the attic as a rebellious victor. Finding the plot also means finding a resolution of the eternal madwoman's dilemma where she is stuck in a ?descent phase? of aloneness, silence and negation. Finding the plot means giving the madwoman in the attic the (self-)permission to come down the stairs, to no longer be silenced and to subsequently begin the ?ascent phase? into being a ?self-realised, self-loving, self-respecting subject?. -Antoni Jach is the author of three novels ?The Weekly Card Game, The Layers of the City and Napoleon's Double ? and of the play Waiting for Isabella.