Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Salmons, Cynthia Sprouse

Titel

"Strength to do what we can": Sacrifice and empowerment in Appalachian women's literature

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2012

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Appalachian studies has been influenced by stereotypes rooted in the earliest portrayals of the region and perpetuated primarily by individuals seeking to gain control of the region's timber and mineral resources. Literature and scholarship by native Appalachian writers works to correct these misrepresentations, providing an honest, multi-faceted view of Appalachian life and culture. Appalachia is traditionally a patriarchal culture, marked by strictly defined gender roles for labor and participation in the community. The role of women requires further examination because in spite of the narrow roles often assigned to them, their presence is pivotal to the family's success and maintaining the community. Patriarchal norms frequently demand that a woman sacrifice herself—her economic independence, her sexuality, her identity—to fulfill a narrowly assigned role. However, Appalachian women have chosen a variety of paths which challenge these expectations and expand their economic and social power. In novels by and about Appalachian women, sacrifice plays a vital role, with two potential outcomes: a woman must sacrifice herself in order to fulfill her assigned obligations in patriarchal family and culture; or, she must sacrifice her traditional familial position in order to resist or confront the roles deemed acceptable by patriarchal norms. Most women are required, at some point, to make a sacrifice. The consequences of that choice will not always be easy to bear, but to make a choice, and to accept its result, is what distinguishes some kinds of sacrifice from others. The meaning of sacrifice changes as the tradition of Appalachian literature progresses. In works prior to 1980, women in Appalachian literature often remained in traditional domestic roles, where their own ambitions were sacrificed. As time passes, women pursue other roles, and other ambitions, and they experience love and motherhood outside of marriage. They choose a different kind of sacrifice, rejecting the traditional role and accepting the challenges accompanying an independent lifestyle. The distinction between these two types of sacrifice is this choice--to decide which role she wishes to fulfill and go beyond simple survival to happiness. KEYWORDS: Appalachian studies, gender studies, family, sacrifice, novels