The Persephone Myth in Young Adult Fiction: From Girl to Woman (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781350401198)

Investigating the widespread but understudied presence of the Persephone myth within 21st-century young adult literature, Cristina Salcedo Gonz?lez analyses six young adult novels which incorporate a reworking of this ancient Greek myth.Through the identification of mythic themes ('mythemes') and patterns within these novels, Gonz?lez shows that these works evoke the female life cycle and develop current perceptions of the female maturational experience. As a result, Gonz?lez makes an important contribution in establishing the cultural significance of young adult literature in the world of classical reception. These novels, all written by women, also inflect or interpret the myth in ways influenced by their contemporary contexts, specifically the impact of the novels' target readership on the aspects of the myth that are either emphasised (e.g. Persephone's descent into the underworld; her existence there; and her re-ascent) or de-emphasised (e.g. the mourning and wanderings of Demeter).

This book makes original methodological contributions - through its innovative dual perspective of myth criticism and classical reception - to our understanding of the academically neglected genre of young adult literature and the reception of the myth of Persephone. As a result, Gonz?lez makes an important contribution in establishing the cultural significance of young adult literature in the world of classical reception.

Author: Cristina Salcedo Gonz?lez
ISBN-10: 1350401196
ISBN-13: 9781350401198
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English
Published: 12/12/2024
Pages: 248
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.56d