Lyfing
08-20-2009, 03:35 AM
“What Does Woman Want?”, by Carolyne Larrington
Introduction
In recent years, Skírnismál has yielded some challenging readings grounded in
formalist and structuralist theory (primarily Lönnroth 1977; also Harris 1975,
Mitchell 1983). These have been put forward by male scholars, who, perhaps
unsurprisingly, do not appear to have been troubled by the unsettling implications of the reading position which Skírnismál demands. For the male reader, alignment with Freyr and Skírnir as subjects is not difficult, but for the female reader this gendered reading position is more problematic. Where uneasiness in reading is markedly gender-related, and especially where the text deals specifically with a woman’s sexual response, it seems probable that feminist theory can locate and illuminate the sources of this uneasiness. This study will suggest some ways in which this might be done.
Later,
-Lyfing
Introduction
In recent years, Skírnismál has yielded some challenging readings grounded in
formalist and structuralist theory (primarily Lönnroth 1977; also Harris 1975,
Mitchell 1983). These have been put forward by male scholars, who, perhaps
unsurprisingly, do not appear to have been troubled by the unsettling implications of the reading position which Skírnismál demands. For the male reader, alignment with Freyr and Skírnir as subjects is not difficult, but for the female reader this gendered reading position is more problematic. Where uneasiness in reading is markedly gender-related, and especially where the text deals specifically with a woman’s sexual response, it seems probable that feminist theory can locate and illuminate the sources of this uneasiness. This study will suggest some ways in which this might be done.
Later,
-Lyfing