Feminine Gospels Flashcards
What are the TWENTY-ONE poems in ‘FG’?
- The Long Queen
- The Map Woman
- Beautiful
- The Diet
- Woman Who Shopped
- Work
- Tall
- Loud
- History
- Sub
- Virgin’s Memo
- Anon
- Laughter of Stafford Girl’s High
- A Dreaming Week
- White Writing
- Gambler
- The Light Gatherer
- The Cord
- Wish
- North-West
- Death and The Moon
What is ‘The Long Queen’ about and what are the central themes?
‘The Long Queen’ is about the reversal of the demonisation of women through the idea of menstruation becoming normalised.
- Feminine Power
- Female voices
What is ‘The Map Woman’ about and what are the central themes?
‘The Map Woman’ is about identity through the metaphorical map that is growing on her body.
- Identity
What is ‘Beautiful’ about and what are the central themes?
‘Beautiful’ is about the lives of four famous women (Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana) to expose the exploitation of women.
- Exploitation of women
- Female beauty
What is ‘The Diet’ about and what are the central themes?
‘The Diet’ is about the battle women have with their appearance and the damage that can be done by poor body image.
- Female identity
- Female beauty
What is ‘The Woman Who Shopped’ about and what are the central themes?
‘The Woman Who Shopped’ is about retail therapy and woman’s metamorphosis into the shop.
- Body image
- Identity
- Materialism
What is ‘Work’ about and what are the central themes?
‘Work’ explores the reality of women’s responsibilities from motherhood to society as a whole.
- Responsibility
- Motherhood
What is ‘Tall’ about and what are the central themes?
‘Tall’ explores the difficulty of social mobility for women by designing a woman who becomes taller but still displays a menial role in society.
- Social mobility
- Patriarchal Entrapment
What is ‘Loud’ about and what are the central themes?
‘Loud’ explores the power of women’s voices while exploring the horrors of the modern world.
- Women’s voices
- The Media
What is ‘History’ about and what are the central themes?
‘History’ explores the female perspective on history and the presentation of women throughout history.
- Female perspective
What is ‘Sub’ about and what are the central themes?
‘Sub’ is about the restructuring of history to place women in the roles of men
- Masculinity vs Femininity
- Female voice
What is ‘The Virgin’s Memo’ about and what are the central themes?
‘The Virgins Memo’ explores a memo written from Mary to Jesus, detailing the disregard of the female voice and perspective
- Female voice
- Religion
What is ‘Anon’ about and what are the central themes?
‘Anon’ explores the anonymity of women throughout history and how they had to use pseudonyms to be taken seriously.
- Women’s anonymity
What is ‘The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High’ about and what are the central themes?
‘The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High’ is about the growth of the female voice and rebellion through laughter and the freedom of the teachers.
- Female voice
- Rebellion
What is ‘A Dreaming Week’ about and what are the central themes?
‘A Dreaming Week’ explores the idea of an escape into a fantasy world
- Escapism
What is ‘White Writing’ about and what are the central themes?
‘White Writing’ explores how actions speak louder than words,
- Marriage
What is ‘Gambler’ about and what are the central themes?
‘Gambler’ is an extended metaphor which explores the random nature of betting on horse racing and the art of writing.
- Gambling
What is ‘The Light Gatherer’ about and what are the central themes?
‘The Light Gatherer’ explores the celebration of motherhood, written for Ella (Duffy’s daughter)
What is ‘The Cord’ about and what are the central themes?
‘The Cord’ goes into detail about parental relationships and the physical and emotional connection a mother has with her child.
- Motherhood
What is ‘Wish’ about and what are the central themes?
‘Wish’ is autobiographical, giving detail about Duffy’s experience with depression and the idolisation of of a world where women don’t suffer.
- Depression
- Mistreatment
What is ‘North-West’ about and what are the central themes?
‘North-West’ explores nostalgia and the inability to relive the past through a melancholic tone.
- Anxiety
- Nostalgia
What is ‘Death and the Moon’ about and what are the central themes?
‘Death and the Moon’ focuses on the distance that death creates and the uncertainty of death
- Death
What is ‘The Feminine Mystique’?
Women were believed to be content in housewife jobs and had little access to education beyond applied courses and home economics, unable to gain an informed and educated opinion to form a knowledgeable voice.
It gave a voice to millions of American women’s frustrations with their limited gender roles
