Summary Of Sedgwick's Cacoethes Scribendi

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Within Sedgwick’s Cacoethes Scribendi, Mrs. Courland subjects people into groups of either authors and subjects, active or passive roles (174). These perceived distinctions are key to understanding Sedgwick’s commentary on the relationship between author and subject. Alice is introduced as an observer of literature, the audience. She comments that she, “…hate[s] love stories that don’t end in marriage.” (170) Her passive role as an audience member allows her to remark on what she does and does not find favorable in a particular piece of writing, as she has no stake in it. However, this soon evolves as she is thrust into the spotlight when her mother, Mrs. Courland, begins to write. Her mother pens an article that, “consist[s] of her own

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