Open AccessSUBVERSION AND THE DOUBLE VOICE IN LILLIAN SMITH AND KATHERINE DUPRE LUMPKIN
Author(s) -
Christopher George
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
odisea
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2174-1611
pISSN - 1578-3820
DOI - 10.25115/odisea.v0i22.4642
Subject(s) - subversion , biography , insider , sociology , psychoanalysis , feminism , art , literature , gender studies , philosophy , politics , psychology , law , epistemology , political science
Lillian Smith and Katharine Du Pre Lumpkin provide a subversive framework for the history of the South through the genre of autobiography. This paper will explore how both authors use a double voice to articulate their confrontation with the Lost Cause. On the one hand, the child protagonist is a Southerner and therefore an insider and participant, while on the other hand, the adult protagonist subverts the dominant social discourse thanks to a critical distance which is both physical and psychological. Smith and Lumpkin use autobiography to challenge tradition, hence subverting the central roles of race and gender.