Wits End: Women's Humor as Rhetorical and Performative Strategy
Wit's end offers an original perspective on women's use of humor as a performative strategy in works of twentieth-century American literature. Sean Zwagerman argues that women, whose direct, explicit performative speech has been traditionally denied or not taken seriously, have often turned to humor as a means of communicating with men.\ With a focus on language and gender, Zwagerman examines both the potential and limits of women's humor as a rhetorical strategy. He engages in theoretical...
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An original perspective on women's use of humor as a performative strategy, seen in works of twentieth-century American literature. Zwagerman argues that women, whose direct, explicit performative speech has been traditionally denied, or not taken seriously, have often turned to humor as a means of communicating with men.
Acknowledgments viiIntroduction 11 "Like a Marriage with a Monkey"An Argument for the Use of Speech-Act Theory in the Analysis of Humor 102 Subversive Potential Meets Social ResistanceWomen's Humor in Thurber, Hurston, and Parker 423 Generally UnhappyThe Deconstruction of Speech Acts and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 924 Comic ReliefA Stand-up Performance by J. L. Austin and the Consequences of Not Getting It 1295 Failure Revisited and Authority RegainedLouise Erdrich's Love Medicine 1726 Sisyphus's Punch LineIntentionality and Wit as Treatment for Postmodern Depression 194Notes 215Works Cited 223Index 229
