Rhetoric Review Jan 2015

Birthing Rhetorical Monsters: How Mary Shelley Infuses<i>Mêtis</i>with the Maternal in Her 1831 Introduction to<i>Frankenstein</i>

Lydia McDermott Whitman College

Abstract

According to Mary Shelley’s 1831 Introduction, her great novel is her “hideous progeny.” This proclamation along with numerous birthing metaphors place her Introduction within the obstetric discourse field of the maternal imagination, a theory which claimed that pregnant women’s imaginations had the power to deform their fetuses. More importantly, the maternal imagination, and thus Mary Shelley’s Introduction, is a form of mêtic rhetoric with a distinctly maternal flavor.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2015-01-02
DOI
10.1080/07350198.2015.976135
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Trapani et al. (2018)
    <i>Kairos</i>: On the Limits to Our (Rhetorical) Situation
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly

Cites in this index (4)

  1. Dolmage (2009)
    Metis, Metis, Mestiza, Medusa: Rhetorical Bodies across Rhetorical Traditions
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Buchanan (2006)
    A Study of Maternal Rhetoric: Anne Hutchinson, Monsters, and the Antinomian Con…
    Rhetoric Review
  3. Dolmage (2006)
    "Breathe Upon Us an Even Flame": Hephaestus, History, and the Body of Rhetoric
    Rhetoric Review
  4. Buchanan (2002)
    Regendering delivery: The fifth canon and the maternal rhetor
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Also cites 7 works outside this index ↓
  1. Fissell Mary E. (2004)
    Vernacular Bodies: The Politics of Reproduction in Early Modern England
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/3177835
     ↗
  3. Hayden Sara (2010)
    Contemplating Maternity in an Era of Choice: Explorations into Discourses of Reproduction
     ↗
  4. Hawhee Debra. (2005)
    Bodily Arts: Rhetoric and Athletics in Ancient Greece
     ↗
  5. 10.2307/25601400
     ↗
  6. 10.7208/chicago/9780226072074.001.0001
     ↗
  7. Shelley Mary. (2008)
    The Original Frankenstein
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 1 View in citation network →

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