The essays in this collection look at some of the images and categories which have shaped Western womens sense of themselves in the twentieth century. The approach of the collection is interdisciplinary, bringing together the perspectives of literary criticism, social history and linguistics. Its focus is international, with contributions on Britain, France, Germany, the United States and Canada. The collection shows both the similarity and the diversity of womens experience in a world determined by patriarchal assumptions, where womens only hope of change lies in developing a determination of their own.