Gender And Genre

Critical and popular debate about Mamet’s work often centers on the meanings of his misogynist, unloving character. The essays in this collection approach these controversial topics of gender and genre with verve, ranging from those which cast Mamet as a misogynist to those which understand his work as deeply ironic and even feminist. The contributors examine plays from the early Sexual Perversity in Chicago to the recent Jolly, two films, House of Games and Homicide, and Mamet’s first novel, The Village.

This groundbreaking book explores the full complexity of gender issues in the work of one of America's most important playwrights.

Booknews

Thirteen contributions from the editors of and other scholars examine Mamet's works in relation to issues of gender and genre. They question whether Mamet is to be seen as a misogynist, like many of his characters, or if his work is intended to be understood as ironic. Coverage includes gender and desire in and , prophecy and parody in , and the matriarchal figure in Mamet's later work. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Christopher Hudgins was Chair of the English Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for nine years.

Leslie Kane is Professor of English at Westfield State College. She is the author of The Language of Silence: On the Unspoken and the Unspeakable in Modern Drama and Weasels and Wisemen: Ethics and Ethnicity in the Work of David Mamet.