“Embarking, not dying”: Clare Boylan’s beloved stranger as reifungsroman

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter reads Clare Boylan’s novel Beloved Stranger (1999) as an example of the recently emerged genre of the Reifungsroman, or novel of ripening. It argues that Boylan’s novel about seventy-five-year-old Lily Butler counteracts the cultural myth of ageing as a narrative of decline without denying its validity. In fact, it is her husband’s mental and physical decline, and eventual death, that forces Lily to review her own life and embark on a journey towards self-discovery. Analysing Lily’s journey inward and backward in time as an example of fictional life review, this chapter shows how Lily’s rich inner life complicates conventional notions of the protagonist’s identity as wife, widow and elderly mother as well as the concept of ageing as a linear narrative of decline.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAgeing Women in Literature and Visual Culture
Subtitle of host publicationReflections, Refractions, Reimaginings
PublisherSpringer International Publishing
Pages55-71
Number of pages17
ISBN (Electronic)9783319636092
ISBN (Print)9783319636085
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of '“Embarking, not dying”: Clare Boylan’s beloved stranger as reifungsroman'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this