Contesting Enslavement: Marriage, Manhood and My Brilliant Career

Abstract

Tracks the troubled relationships between Sybylla Melwyn and the men in My Brilliant Career, arguing that 'there is something more to male-female relations in My Brilliant Career than genre, literary tradition and autobiography. My Brilliant Career is also a savage political indictment of heterosexual relations in Australian colonial society, and a remarkably intriguing one, especially given her age and social and political context'. The essay aims to broaden feminist studies of the novel by examining further Franklin's representation of men and masculinity.

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Published 1 October 2002 in Volume 20 No. 4. Subjects: Gender roles, Male / female relationships, Marriage, Masculinity, Miles Franklin.

Cite as: Garton, Stephen. ‘Contesting Enslavement: Marriage, Manhood and My Brilliant Career.’ Australian Literary Studies, vol. 20, no. 4, 2002, doi: 10.20314/als.1007705908.