"Tell Me a Riddle" Tillie Olsen (Women Writers: Texts and Contexts) [Paperback]

Deborah Silverton Rosenfelt (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1995

"Tell Me a Riddle" renders an unforgettable portrait of a working-class couple when the gender-determined differences in their experiences of poverty and familial life give rise to bitter conflict after almost four decades of marriage. As she dies of cancer, Eva, the protagonist, recollects a revolutionary past that both critiques and offers hope for the present. Deborah Rosenfelt's introduction and the essays in this volume survey the critical reception of this highly acclaimed story, analyze its biographical and historical contexts, examine the text's language, structure, and spiritual and moral significance, and illuminate Olsen's relationship to the American Midwest, the American left, and the Jewish enlightenment tradition. This casebook includes an introduction by the editor, a chronology of Olsen's life, an authoritative text of "Tell Me a Riddle," relevant essays by Olsen, seven critical essays, and a bibliography. The contributors are Joanne Trautmann Banks, Constance Coiner, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Mara Faulkner, Elaine Neil Orr, Linda Ray Pratt, and Deborah Silverton Rosenfelt.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Olsen, the writer, teacher, and 1930s left-wing activist, was born in 1912 of East European parents committed to Socialist and Jewish enlightenment values. Her work reflects the discrimination and marginalization she felt as a young girl growing up in Omaha, Nebraska. Like other women of the time, Olsen was underappreciated even in leftist circles, which suffered much the same gender bias as the larger society. "Tell Me a Riddle," which received the O. Henry first prize for best American short story in 1961, is reprinted in this volume (edited by Rosenfelt, women's studies, Univ. of Maryland) along with seven critical essays by feminist literary scholars, previously published in books or journals, that give a contemporary appreciation to Olsen's work. Highly recommended for multicultural collections, women's studies, and all American literature collections.?Lesley Jorbin, Cleveland State Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"These stories have the lyric intensity of an Emily Dickinson poem and the scope of a Balzac novel." -- from the judges' citation for the Rea Award for the Short Story --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813521378
• ISBN-13: 978-0813521374
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)