Over the past fifty years, feminist literary criticism has become theoretical rather than practical, severing any relationship between literary analysis and the real lived experiences of women. An example of this disconnect is the way in which the madwoman in feminist literature has become a lauded icon of liberation, when in reality her situation would be seen as anything but empowered. Finding the Plot takes this example to task, arguing that in fact any interpretation of women’s madness as subversive reinforces the very gender stereotypes that feminist literary criticism should be calling into question. Rogers argues for a radical approach. By constructing a ground-breaking revision of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey model, which releases the madwoman from her narrative captivity, Finding the Plot will transform the way you read, write, and interpret women’s madness in literature.

Dr Megan Rogers is a tutor and researcher in the Media and Communications Department of RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. In 2016 Megan was awarded first prize in the My Brother Jack Literary Awards, in 2015 she was shortlisted for the Vice Chancellor’s Doctoral Excellence Award, and in 2008 she received Monash University’s Dean’s Excellence Award. Her research focuses on the intersection between psychoanalysis and literary criticism, in particular the ways in which literature has the power to transform.

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