
Disciplining Girls
Understanding the Origins of the Classic Orphan Girl Story
Joe Sutliff Sanders(Author)
Johns Hopkins University Press
Published on 26. January 2012
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-4214-0318-2 (ISBN)
Description
At the heart of some of the most beloved children's novels is a passionate discussion about discipline, love, and the changing role of girls in the twentieth century. Joe Sutliff Sanders traces this debate as it began in the sentimental tales of the mid-nineteenth century and continued in the classic orphan girl novels of Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, L. M. Montgomery, and other writers still popular today. Domestic novels published between 1850 and 1880 argued that a kind of discipline that emphasized love was the most effective and moral form. These were the first best sellers in American fiction, and by reimagining discipline as a technique of the heart-rather than of the whip-they ensured their protagonists a secure, if limited, claim on power. This same ideal was adapted by women authors in the early twentieth century, who transformed the sentimental motifs of domestic novels into the orphan girl story made popular in such novels as Anne of Green Gables and Pollyanna. Through close readings of nine of the most influential orphan girl novels, Sanders provides a seamless historical narrative of American children's literature and gender from 1850 until 1923.
He follows his insightful literary analysis with chapters on sympathy and motherhood, two themes central to both American and children's literature, and concludes with a discussion of contemporary ideas about discipline, abuse, and gender. Disciplining Girls writes an important chapter in the history of American, women's, and children's literature, enriching previous work about the history of discipline in America.
He follows his insightful literary analysis with chapters on sympathy and motherhood, two themes central to both American and children's literature, and concludes with a discussion of contemporary ideas about discipline, abuse, and gender. Disciplining Girls writes an important chapter in the history of American, women's, and children's literature, enriching previous work about the history of discipline in America.
Reviews / Votes
A dual study of American literature and history, Disciplining Girls is an excellent pick for community and college library collections. -- James A. Cox Midwest Book Review Sanders explores the genre of the 'classic orphan girl story' in relation to social issues of gender and discipline, looking at how girls are disciplined and how girls discipline situations, families, and the social world. Choice Sanders's analysis... balances careful attention to textual detail against larger traditions, and historical background against theoretical principles. -- Gregg Camfield Tulsa Studies in Women's LiteratureMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paper over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
417 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4214-0318-2 (9781421403182)
DOI
10.1353/book.10553
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2012
Johns Hopkins University Press
€47.49
Available for download
Person
Joe Sutliff Sanders is an assistant professor of English at Kansas State University.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Gender, Sentiment, Individualism, Discipline
1. The Wide, Wide World and the Rules of Sentimental Engagement
2. The Hidden Hand and Momentary Individualism
3. Eight Cousins and What Girls Are Made For
4. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and the Threat of Affective Discipline
5. A Little Princess and the Accidental Power of Stories
6. Anne of Green Gables and the Return of Affective Discipline
7. The Secret Garden and the Rajah's Master
8. Pollyanna and Anxious Individualism
9. Emily of New Moon and the Private Girl
10. Spinning Sympathy
11. Girls' Novels and the End of Mothering
Conclusion: Affection, Manipulation, Pleasure, Abuse
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Introduction: Gender, Sentiment, Individualism, Discipline
1. The Wide, Wide World and the Rules of Sentimental Engagement
2. The Hidden Hand and Momentary Individualism
3. Eight Cousins and What Girls Are Made For
4. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and the Threat of Affective Discipline
5. A Little Princess and the Accidental Power of Stories
6. Anne of Green Gables and the Return of Affective Discipline
7. The Secret Garden and the Rajah's Master
8. Pollyanna and Anxious Individualism
9. Emily of New Moon and the Private Girl
10. Spinning Sympathy
11. Girls' Novels and the End of Mothering
Conclusion: Affection, Manipulation, Pleasure, Abuse
Notes
Bibliography
Index