Subverting Patriarchy: Feminism and Fantasy in the Novels of Irmtraud Morgner

One of the most innovative examples of the use of fantastic forms in recent feminist fiction can be found in the work of Irmtraud Morgner. Little-known outside German-speaking countries, her unique blend of fantastic realism testifies both to the subversive nature of a literature of fantasy and the transgressive power of a feminist writing practice. This book looks at the way Morgner uses fantasy both as a feminist critique of the history of patriarchy and as a test of the viability of feminist alternatives.