Description
Book SynopsisThis book is a comprehensive study of some ways of treating the subject that demonstrate new and unusual perspectives, and provides a different approach to the popularly-held views of mothers-in-law; and that further address these works as popular culture; and as texts in their own right from within the framework of literary theory; and as works that demonstrate the ability to reach and connect with, and satisfy, both the general reader, the student, and the scholar, from all levels and walks of life.
Trade ReviewJo Parnell has curated an enthralling and exceptional collection of essays on media representations of an almost entirely neglected figure in our social, cultural and familial landscape – the mother-in-law. Acknowledging, exploring and, at times, refuting, the pervasive negative stereotype of the trope of the mother-in-law, it is so exciting to see the work of scholars from a range of countries and continents side by side as they investigate this much-maligned figure. From its discussions of representations in Roman Antiquity to those on television tonight, this volume is a must-read – for elucidation and scholarly reference, and for the pure pleasure of reading the insightful writings collected. -- Donna Lee Brien, CQ University
This sweeping collection of essays, with their global and interdisciplinary focus, brings long overdue scholarly attention to a figure deeply engrained in every day life, literature. and popular culture. Deconstructing the cliche of the monstrous mother-in-law, the contributors reveal instead a complex, multilayered figure shaped by class, race, patriarchy, and nationhood. Parnell's skillfully edited volume explores texts from antiquity to contemporary reality TV to understand the larger social and political forces that continue to shape (mis)representations of the mother-in-law. -- Julie Taddeo, University of Maryland
Table of ContentsForeword by Josephine May Preface by Jo Parnell Part 1: The Mothers-in-Law of the Future 1A Cultural Appraisal of the Significance of the Role of the Mother-in-Law Among the Yoruba People of Nigeria Cecilia Alero Titilayo Saibu 2Mother-in-Law Soap Opera: Redefining the Mother-in-Law, Redesigning the Kenyan Nation Wafula David Yenjela 3 Oppressor or Oppressed: The M(other) – in-Law in Nigerian Women’s Literature Shalini Nadaswaran 4Stereotyped Representations of the Black Mother-In-Law in Reality Television Shows: A Critical Analysis Marquita Gammage Part II: Foundational Mothers-in-Law 5The Mother-in-Law in Latin Literature and Roman Society Jane Bellemore and Terry Ryan 6Exclusive Intimacies: Creating Mothers-in-Law in Japanese Literature and Film Miglena (Maggie) Ivanova 7Ogresses, Queens and Wicked Fairies: Fairy-tale Mothers-in-Law from Charles Perrault to Shrek and Once Upon a Time Lydia Brugué Botia and Auba Llompart Pons 8Cold Springs: Cinematic Portraits of Sara Roosevelt Andrew Howe Part III: Entertaining Mothers-in-Law 9The Evil Dame in British Horror Film: Domestic Nightmare and Change of Times of in Fanatic and Persecution Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns, and Leonardo Acosta Lando and Diego Foronda 10“The Worst Person I Know”: Representations of the Mother-in-Law in British Popular Entertainment Martina Lipton 11Dorothy Cannell’s How to Murder your Mother-in-Law: Women, Sisterhood and Feminism Zoly Rakotoniera Afterword by Hugh Craig
