The Traditions of the English Novel of the 19th Century and Modern American Women’s Novel

Abstract

European literature, and English literature in particular has always been the matrix of a kind for American women’s literature. It’s shown in the article how the American women’s novel adopted and reinterpreted the plots and characters of English literature (“The Private Life” by J. Smiley), reconstructed classic folklore and literary plots using parody for well-known titles (“The Robberbride” by M. Atwood), quotes Dickens and Oscar Wilde in “The Book of Ruth” by J. Hamilton.