{"product_id":"monstrous-bitches","title":"Monstrous Bitches","description":"\u003ch2\u003eMonstrous Bitches\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA History of Terrifying Women\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEleanor Johnson\u003cbr\u003eISBN 9780691291666\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover, 344 pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e9.3 X 6.3 X 1.3 inches | 1.4 pounds\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A fiery and fun feminist reclamation of womankind's monstrous alter egos.\"--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA provocative look at how a \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003esexually voracious demoness from ancient myth became the defining archetype of Western misogyny\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor as long as human societies have been telling stories, the patriarchy has felt threatened by women. In this book, Eleanor Johnson provides an engaging cultural history of a figure she calls the \"monstrous bitch,\" the notorious female who has haunted the patriarchal imagination for centuries, feared for her sexual promiscuity, her exercise of reproductive agency and control, and her outspoken way of contesting patriarchal power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a narrative brimming with insight, Johnson traces the origins of female monstrosity to the demoness Lamashtu of ancient Mesopotamia, showing how this infanticidal, hypersexual, loudmouthed monster appears in different guises throughout history. In classical Greece, she reemerges as the sorceress Medea, the child-devouring monster Lamia, and the vengeful Furies. In the medieval and early modern periods, she is an oversexed, baby-slaying, spellcasting witch; in the Romantic and Victorian eras, a vampiress; and in the modern age of psychoanalysis, a mental patient. After this \u003ci\u003elongue durée\u003c\/i\u003e history, Johnson shows how monstrous bitchery has been challenged and reinterpreted in contemporary cinematic popular culture, becoming an expression of heroism and resistance in films like \u003ci\u003eGinger Snaps\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eJennifer's Body\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Witch. \u003c\/i\u003eShe demonstrates how deeply embedded the roots of misogyny have become, and why it is more critical today than ever that we expose and address them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn irreverent look at a pervasive trope that runs through four thousand years of Western culture, \u003ci\u003eMonstrous Bitch\u003c\/i\u003ereveals that while representations of the powerful woman have evolved over time, the fear and demonization of her remains the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eEleanor Johnson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. Her books include \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eScream with Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (1968-1980)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eWaste and the Wasters: Poetry and Ecosystemic Thought in Medieval England\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eStaging Contemplation: Participatory Theology in Middle English Prose, Verse, and Drama\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003ePracticing Literary Theory in the Middle Ages: Ethics and the Mixed Form in Chaucer, Gower, Usk, and Hoccleve\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ingram","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67613361799482,"sku":"271666","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0814\/2929\/9514\/files\/Monstrousbitches.webp?v=1790884520","url":"https:\/\/edenbookstore.shop\/products\/monstrous-bitches","provider":"Eden Seminary Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}