By Jillian McKeown | On April 26, 2017 | Updated October 17, 2022 | Comments (0)
This analysis of The Giant Wistaria (1891) — a chilling short ghost story by classic feminist author Charlotte Perkins Gilman was contributed by Jillian McKeown, excerpted from Feminist Short Stories: Horror & Sci-Fi (Part 1).
It’s shocking once you’ve finished “The Giant Wistaria” to realize that it was published in 1891, when it seems as if it were written not so long ago.
The story takes place during two time periods, the 1700s and the 1800s. The former century begins with an English family and we’re dropped into the middle of the most scandalous of family dramas — their daughter has just given birth out of wedlock, and the parents are fleeing to England to escape any disgrace to their family name. Read More→
By Jillian McKeown | On April 26, 2017 | Updated October 17, 2022 | Comments (0)
“A Good Man is Hard to Find,” a 1953 short story by Flannery O’Connor, remains one of this author’s most controversial works.
This story by author of modern Southern gothic was first published in 1953 in an anthology of modern writing, and in 1960, it was the eponymous title of O’Connor’s own anthology of her collected short stories. Because it has appeared in many anthologies, this story is one of her best known, if not necessarily her best.
The story begins as a man named Bailey wishes to take his family on a road trip from Georgia to Florida. His mother, who is simply called “the grandmother” argues that they should go to East Tennessee instead. She has seen a news article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that escaped murderer called “The Misfit” was spotted in Florida. Read More→
By Jillian McKeown | On April 25, 2017 | Updated July 31, 2026 | Comments (0)
This analysis of Herland, the 1915 utopian novel by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is excerpted from an in-depth review from Exploring Feminisms by Jillian McKeown.
Years ago, I bought Herland after reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin, craving that same satisfied woman-centered feeling that I was left with as I closed Chopin’s book. As I read the first few pages of Gilman’s Utopian text about a land of only women, I noticed that it was from a man’s point of view and immediately lost interest.
I had very little interest in a man’s perspective, even if it was written by a woman. Recently, Herland has been on my mind and decided to pick it up again. Read More→
By Adam Burgess | On February 24, 2017 | Updated October 8, 2022 | Comments (0)
“The greatest love story ever told.” “The epic novel of our time.” These are just two of the many descriptive phrases applied to Margaret Mitchell’s brilliant 1936 tome, Gone With the Wind.
Is it an epic tale, indicative of the essence of the American south during the Civil War? Absolutely, it is. Is it one of the most tense, romantic, and familiar love stories of all-time? Yes, it definitely is.
But, when it comes down to it, do these short phrases accurately describe what Gone With the Wind is all about? No, they do not. Gone With the Wind is about the end of an era – the collapse of a civilization. It is about selfishness and prosperity, morals and aristocracy, war and destruction, mercenaries and old maids. Read More→
By Adam Burgess | On February 12, 2017 | Updated September 30, 2022 | Comments (0)
Orlando by Virginia Woolf (1928) was the esteemed British author’s sixth major work. It was written in a year, between To the Lighthouse and The Waves.
An epic novel, it follows the journey of one character, Orlando, over the course of about 350 years (1588 – 1928). It is a biography not of any one character, but of the nature and history of gender, identity, and sexuality through time.
At the start of the novel, readers will encounter Orlando as a young boy of noble birth. His family entertains Queen Elizabeth I, who is the first to notice Orlando’s beauty and potential. Read More→
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