Books that Feature the Theme of Femininity

This thematic Collection highlights Books that Feature the Theme of Femininity. Through novels, plays, and works of nonfiction, the selections in this Collection explore the feminine experience in a variety of historical settings and cultures as they examine topics such as gender roles, feminism, and what it means to be feminine.

Fefu and Her Friends

by María Irene Fornés

Publication year 1990

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Friendship, Gender Identity

Tags Drama, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Disability, LGBTQ+, Modernism, Education, Education, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

Fefu and her Friends is a play by Cuban American playwright Maria Irene Fornés. It premiered in 1977 at the Relativity Media Lab, a small venue on New York’s Lower East Side. Set in 1935 New England, the play concerns a group of women who knew one another in college and gather for a reunion as adults. Within six months, Fefu was produced off-Broadway at the American Place Theatre, earning Fornés her second Obie Award... Read Fefu and Her Friends Summary

Finally

by Wendy Mass

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Joy, Regret, Femininity, Childhood & Youth, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Friendship, Self Discovery, Fate

Tags Realistic Fiction, Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Humor, Contemporary Literature

... Read Finally Summary

Finding Margaret Fuller

by Allison Pataki

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Love, Revenge, Femininity, Midlife, Future, Friendship, Marriage, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Education, Equality, Fate, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, US History, Gender & Feminism, World History

... Read Finding Margaret Fuller Summary

Flesh and Blood So Cheap

by Albert Marrin

Publication year 2011

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Femininity, Language, Race, Teamwork, Social Class, Community, Economics, Immigration, Politics & Government, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Place

Tags US History, Immigration & Refugeeism, Social Justice

Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy (2011) is a historical nonfiction book intended for an audience of young readers. It was written by Albert Marrin, a former history professor and author of dozens of historical nonfiction books.Marrin, whose academic focus was on liberty under the law, wrote often about times of suffering and movements for liberation, including The War for Independence: The Story of the American Revolution (1988), Years of... Read Flesh and Blood So Cheap Summary

Flowering Judas

by Katherine Anne Porter

Publication year 1930

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality, Politics & Government, Femininity, Apathy

Tags American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

“Flowering Judas” by Katherine Anne Porter was first published in 1930 in her debut collection of stories titled Flowering Judas and Other Stories. The anthology was later expanded in 1935 to include 10 works of short fiction. “Flowering Judas” is set in the Xochimilco borough of Mexico City in 1920, just after the Mexican Revolution, and follows Laura, a young American schoolteacher who travels to Mexico and joins the cause of the Socialists in the... Read Flowering Judas Summary

Foe

by J. M. Coetzee

Publication year 1986

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Literature, Truth & Lies, Femininity

Tags Gender & Feminism, Historical Fiction, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

Foe is a 1986 novel by J. M. Coetzee. Foe is a parallel novel, reimagining the story of Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe from the perspective of a shipwrecked woman named Susan Barton, who then tries to convince a fictionalized version of Defoe to write her story.This guide refers to the 2015 Penguin edition.Content Warning: The source material uses outdated, offensive terms for Black people throughout, which is replicated in this guide only in... Read Foe Summary

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf

by Ntozake Shange

Publication year 1975

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Race, Femininity, Coming of Age

Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Drama, Gender & Feminism, Race & Racism, Women`s Studies, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

A choreopoem is a work of art that combines dance, music, and poetry. Because the medium focuses as much on nonverbal communication as the written word, choreopoems are performance pieces. Ntozake Shange originated this format in 1974, when for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf debuted in San Francisco, California. Later, the choreopoem made its Broadway debut in December 1976, a move that Shange describes as “either too big for... Read For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf Summary

For the Sake of Elena

by Elizabeth George

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Regret, Disability, Femininity, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Death, Social Class

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

Elizabeth George’s For the Sake of Elena (1992) is the fifth novel in her internationally bestselling Inspector Lynley mystery series. The British-style detective novel follows Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, as they are called to Cambridge University to investigate the brutal murder of a deaf undergraduate, Elena Weaver. As they delve into the victim’s complex life, the detectives must navigate the insular world of academia, fraught with personal secrets... Read For the Sake of Elena Summary

Frankissstein

by Jeanette Winterson

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, The Past, Marriage, Social Class, Economics, Art, Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Modern Classic Fiction

Frankissstein is a novel by Jeanette Winterson that combines speculative and historical fiction in revisiting Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein. Winterson is a prolific author, known for her explorations of physical reality, gender, sexuality, and identity. Her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, won the 1985 Whitbread Prize for First Novel, and Frankissstein was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. Winterson is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, and... Read Frankissstein Summary

Freedom Train

by Dorothy Sterling

Publication year 1954

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Disability, Femininity, Race, Environment, Family, Teamwork, Colonialism, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Justice, Safety & Danger

Tags World History, Biography, Children`s Literature, US History, Historical Nonfiction, American Civil War

... Read Freedom Train Summary

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Alison Bechdel

Publication year 2006

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Family, Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Literature, Truth & Lies, Femininity, Masculinity

Tags LGBTQ+, Life-Inspired Fiction, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Parenting, Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Grief & Death, Gender & Feminism, Biography

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006) is a graphic novel memoir written and illustrated by underground cartoonist Alison Bechdel. The book centers on Bechdel’s relationship with her late father Bruce Allen Bechdel, who died in what she believes was a death by suicide. Fun Home is a non-linear narrative that rehashes events from Alison Bechdel’s youth and adolescence. Her memories are presented in the comic panels, overlayed with her prosaic, retrospective musings in text boxes... Read Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Summary

Furia

by Yamile Saied Méndez

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Equality, Family, Femininity

Tags Romance, Sports, Race & Racism, Gender & Feminism, Social Class, Latin American Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Furia Summary

Ghosts

by Henrik Ibsen

Publication year 1881

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Religion & Spirituality, Family, Regret, Guilt, Shame & Pride, Femininity

Tags Drama, Psychological Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Realism, Victorian Period, Dramatic Literature, Health, Religion & Spirituality, Finance, Love & Sexuality, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

The play Ghosts (1881) by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen chronicles the complicated relationship between Helen Alving and her son, Oswald. Ghosts documents a day in the life at the Alving estate as Helen prepares to open an orphanage in honor of her late husband. A three-act play, Ghosts explores the complex social issues of sexually transmitted infections, incest, and euthanasia—topics that made the play highly controversial when it was first produced.Ghosts followed the success of... Read Ghosts Summary

Ghost Story

by Peter Straub

Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Revenge, Aging, Death, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Art, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Order & Chaos, Justice, Equality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

... Read Ghost Story Summary

Gift From The Sea

by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Publication year 1955

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Marriage, Midlife, Femininity

Tags Inspirational, Philosophy, Women`s Studies, Gender & Feminism, Philosophy, Biography, Self-Improvement, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Gift from the Sea is a 1955 work of inspirational nonfiction literature by American author Anne Morrow Lindbergh. While vacationing on Captiva Island, Florida, Lindbergh explores the questions of how to find a new, more natural rhythm of life and how to gain a deeper relationship with herself and others. To gain inspiration for this, she discusses various shells that she finds on the beach. The first two shells she finds symbolize the importance of... Read Gift From The Sea Summary

Girl

by Jamaica Kincaid

Publication year 1978

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Colonialism, Coming of Age, Femininity, Community

Tags Gender & Feminism, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Prose, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” was first published on June 26, 1978 in The New Yorker and was later included in Kincaid’s debut 1983 short story collection, At the Bottom of the River. According to Kincaid, her works, including “Girl,” can be considered autobiographical. Kincaid grew up on the Caribbean island of Antigua and had a strained relationship with her mother before Kincaid moved to New York City. These same cultural and familial contexts are present in... Read Girl Summary