The Madwoman's Underclothes: Essays and Occasional Writings [Paperback]

Germaine Greer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 1994

“From the start, Greer’s has been a memorable voice — direct, passionate, un-repentant –– and this collection of her writings is witness to the tenacity of her personal vision. . . . Greer is informed, intelligent, genial, and never boring, and this is a provocative one-woman show.” –– Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Greer finds it ironic that The Female Eunuch hoisted her reputation as an architect of the permissive society. In essays reprinted here from London's underground journal Oz and other magazines, she argues that the relaxation of sexual taboos was not even a reform, let alone a revolution, but a return to narcissism and overemphasis on self-gratification. She also knocks self-appointed feminists for mimicking male patterns of dominance. Greer's writings on legalizing pot, rock groupies, vaginal deodorant and premenstrual stress may have helped blaze a trail, but they now look dated. Her occasional pieces for the Sunday Times, Esquire, Spectator and other publications are still fresh, whether she is discussing care of the dying or men's belief that women desire rape. Most rewarding are her political essays on Ethiopia's famine, sexual politics in Castro's Cuba and the hopelessness of Brazil's explosive slums.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Greer is known for The Female Eunuch (1969), one of the germinal works of second-wave feminism, and The Obstacle Race (1979), a pioneering study of women artists. This collection of reviews, columns, and articles shows Greer's range and independent mind. She is acidly critical of all party lines, as she writes on topics from rock to Ethiopian resettlement and advertising to abortion. As the chronological arrangement reveals, 1968 already seems like ancient history. Although some of the pieces are narrowly specific to British counterculture and legal issues, the articles on Norman Mailer, the Playboy piece that defines seduction as "petty rape," and the recent articles on Cuba and Ethiopia are essential reading. Sally Mitchell, English Dept., Temple Univ., Philadelphia
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press (January 10, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871133083
• ISBN-13: 978-0871133083
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,040,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Forest Fire of a Book, July 14, 2002

By 

R. Tiedemann "Sunnye" (Bellevue, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Madwoman's Underclothes: Essays and Occasional Writings (Paperback)

Germaine Greer's sharp mind and strong opinions blaze through these essays like a rampaging fire, sometimes smoking and smoldering, sometimes leaping from the page. Her views on world social and political scenes from the 1950s through the '80s are brutally witty, perceptive and emotional.

Essays about drug and rock scenes re-published from Rolling Stone, Oz and other avant-garde publications explore unconventionality, but her frantic tone and obvious attempt to shock for the sake of shocking weaken her voice. In these early writings, Greer is the Chicken Little of her generation, racing around shouting, "The sky is falling."

Thirty years later, Greer is still racing but her more mature writings show development of a unique set of values and a complexity of spirit. These contemporary essays, like one on women in Cuba and another on resettlement in Ethiopia show passion and an underlying sadness. The adult Greer is still unaware of her own narrowmindedness, a condition that she unhesitatingly condemns in others.

MADWOMAN is definitely worth your consideration. In it Greer is trashy, hysterical, angry and she's also articulate, funny and sagacious. And never dull.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars madwoman exhibitionist, July 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Madwoman's Underclothes: Essays and Occasional Writings (Paperback)

A collection of the most valuable insight and veracity from one of the most influential and human people in western society. Greers collection of work shows not only how her genuis has developed but shows the diversity and extent of her cause.

4.0 out of 5 stars Germaine Greer at her best, July 14, 2006

By 

Elizabeth A. Root (Laurel, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The madwoman's underclothes: Essays and occasional writings (Hardcover)

If you have ever wondered why people make much of Germaine Greer (I often did) this book shows her writing at its best. I think that essays suit Greer better than books. The discipline of a short length doesn't allow her to wander off on tangents and self-indulgence (as much).

The earlier essays are the most appealing being often witty, trenchent, and incisive. I occasionally remember one and laugh. They are of course sometimes dated, and often marred by a certain transcendent smugness. Greer may call for wide-open revolution and anarchy, but she is sometimes appalled by the results. The problem with urging people to be authentic and make decisions for themselves without reference to society and its standards is that they will often make decisions one doesn't approve of.

The later essays take on more serious topics, but they are far less stylish and frequently no more clearly thought out.

Valuable, even essential, for people interested in Greer, but not necessarily recommended for a broad audience.