Abstract

Inspired by the work of such French theorists as Luce Irigaray and Jacques Lacan, Joyce's Waking Women is the first book-length feminist study of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. Sheldon Brivic's engaging style makes his guide an ideal introduction for students and others just getting their feet wet in the riverrun of Joyce's language. Helping newcomers gain the sensibility and skills essential to reading any part of the book, Brivic focuses on its many strands of feminine narrative, especially the two remarkably beautiful sections that highlight Anna Livia Plurabelle. Anna Livia, Brivic argues, embodies a radical vision of how women are entrapped and how they will free themselves. He sees her speech as the first - and last - testament of a multiracial, international heroine whose dreams for the future merge with a determination to reject male authority.