(En)Gendering unreliable narration

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How does gender influence the perception of an unreliable narrator? This volume explores the interplay between gender and the textual dimensions of unreliable narratives, questioning its relevance to readers' cognitive frameworks for assessing reliability. It presents a feminist-narratological theory that integrates both textual and contextual aspects of unreliability, building on recent cognitive-narratological reconceptualizations. The text argues for the inclusion of feminist categories such as sex, gender, and sexuality in discussions of narrative unreliability. Through detailed analyses of eight novels by notable British, American, and Canadian women writers, including Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood, as well as lesser-known authors like Eva Figes and Brigid Brophy, the work illustrates that narratorial unreliability is prevalent in female-authored narratives. These analyses reveal how such unreliability can serve as a narrative device to address gender-specific concerns and experiences. The volume also examines the functions of unreliable narration in relation to themes of gender-inflected madness, identity, and heterosexual relationships, demonstrating the complex ways in which gender shapes narrative interpretation.