The Bleeding of America Menstruation as Symbolic Economy in Pynchon, Faulkner, and Morrison

Subjects:

• Literature » American Literature
• Women's Studies » Women's Studies (General)

Reviews:

• [T]his is a really important book....Like the best pieces of scholarship I have encountered, this book has permanently altered my perception of the canon.
  —Pynchon Notes Spring-Fall 2002
• [D]ana Medoro lucidly examines the pervasive, though unacknowledged, presence of menstrual bleeding in American fiction....Although Medoro sometimes attempts too much, tackling all of American literary history, ancient myth, numerous schools of critical theory, and many primary texts, her contribution to feminist theory should not be overlooked. Her willingness to engage with the taboo subject of menstruation produces innovative readings and original lines of inquiry. She has broken critical ground that is certain to prompt a new interest in this approach to American literary studies.
  —Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature Fall 2003

• Endorsement From John M. Krafft
  Editor,Pynchon Notes: The baptism in blood Medoro offers us is a welcome therapeutic counter to the horror of masculinist bloodletting that characterizes so much of American history and culture. Her bold and insightful study puts a non-exclusionary, non-divisive promise back into the myth of the promised land. ^{IThe Bleeding of America} is a powerful, eloquent and inspiring revision of American fiction.
• Endorsement From Steven Weisenberger
  Professor of English
  University of Lexington, Kentucky: The Bleeding of America is an important book for a wide range of scholars. Anyone interested in the three authors studied must read these chapters, as should any scholar working on twentieth century American fiction. There are powerful insights here for others working in women's studies, feminist critiques of the American canon, post-structuralist criticism, and American studies.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Thomas Pynchon: Blood, Tears, and War
• William Faulkner: There's a Curse on Us
• Toni Morrison: Daughters of Jerusalem
• Conclusion
• Selected Bibliographyfully
• Index