Contested care. A few literary cases from Symbolism to dystopia, from the Grey Companion and the Angel in the House to the Android Governess
Contested care. A few literary cases from Symbolism to dystopia, from the Grey Companion and the Angel in the House to the Android Governess

Author(s): Bilyana Kourtasheva
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Comparative Study of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: care; gender roles; robots; androids; mother function
Summary/Abstract: The text presents various portrayals of care in literature from the early 20th century until today - from Symbolism to dystopia, from the Grey Companion and the Angel in the House to the Android Governess. It offers condensed analyses of texts by Dimcho Debelyanov, Atanas Dalchev, Virginia Woolf, Michael Cunningham, Isaac Asimov, Ted Chiang, and Kazuo Ishiguro. These often unexpected readings demonstrate the endurance of the practices of care but also the startling twists in its imagery, as well as the power struggles and the futuristic aporias woven into it. The latter include the care/freedom dilemma of female artists, the looming robotic future of caregiving, and the need to provide human care for the developing artificial intelligence.

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