No End to Her

Soap Opera and the Female Subject

By: Martha Nochimson

Write A Review

Paperback | 29 March 1993 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
237 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.83 x 15.47 x 1.51

Paperback

$52.99

or 4 interest-free payments of $13.25 with

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

In this incisive defense of a much-maligned genre, Nochimson demonstrates how soap opera validates an essentially feminine perspective, and responds to complex issues of women's desire and power.

Even though soap opera commands a vast and loyal audience, it has been trivialized by the mainstream media and even libeled as a form of pornography designed to keep women in their place. In this incisive defense of a much-maligned genre, Martha Nochimson demonstrates how soap opera validates an essentially feminine perspective and responds to complex issues of women's desires and power by creating strong, active female characters. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory and feminist film criticism, Nochimson explores the ways in which soap opera has inverted the typical male-centered narrative characterized by a domineering, Oedipal father-son relationship that serves to control female energy. Instead, women in soap operas resist their stabilizing role in male hierarchies. In breaking with traditional narrative, soaps create a distinctly feminine, open-ended format capable of tolerating ambiguity and lack of resolution. Soap operas emerge as vessels of a subterranean female power and defy women's "assigned" place in male-designed social structures.

It is time, Nochimson argues, to take a fresh look at one of America's few original art forms. Anyone interested in television, American culture, and gender roles will find No End to Her a startling and compelling read.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Arts & Entertainment Film, TV & Radio Television Society & Culture Social Groups Gender Studies Gender Studies: Women and Girls Media Studies Psychology Dance & Other Performing Arts

List Of Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Prologue: An Invitation to Recovery	p. 1
No End to Her: The Place of Soap Opera as Screen Fiction	p. 11
Soap Opera, Femininity, and Desire	p. 13
Soap Opera, Mainstream Critical Discourse, and Desire	p. 21
Freudian Film Criticism, the Screen Subject, and Desire	p. 25
Narrative Syntax and Desire	p. 31
A Differently Gendered Screen, a Different Narrative Myth	p. 36
Conclusion: The Female Subject of Soap Opera	p. 38
Persephone, Not Oedipus: Soap Opera and the Fantasy Female Subject before 1978	p. 41
Releasing the Screen Heroine from Bond-age	p. 43
The Radio Heroine	p. 46
The Early Television Heroine	p. 54
The Importance of Being Victoria Lord	p. 64
Conclusion	p. 74
The Fantasy Female Subject after 1978	p. 75
General Hospital: Crooks in the Crannies	p. 77
Days of Our Lives: Energizing the Narrative of the Couple	p. 85
Santa Barbara: Julia's New Frontier	p. 105
Conclusion	p. 118
Persephone's Labyrinth: The Aesthetics of an Involuntary Feminine Discourse	p. 122
Suspense	p. 123
Multiplots	p. 143
Melodrama	p. 145
Actor Chemistry and Soap Opera Melodrama	p. 153
Conclusion	p. 159
Persephone's "Wild Zone": Difference, Interiority, and Linear Historicity in Soap Opera	p. 161
Historical Difference: Culture and Religion	p. 164
Historical Difference: Race	p. 168
Historical Difference: Homosexuality	p. 174
Interiority: A Different History	p. 178
Conclusion	p. 191
Epilogue: What Is Normal?	p. 193
Notes	p. 201
References	p. 221
Index of Soap Opera Characters	p. 229
Index	p. 231
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

No End to Her

Soap Opera and the Female Subject

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Dance & Other Performing Arts

Dawn of the Firebird

The most anticipated revenge high fantasy of 2025

Road Show Wisdom

Lessons from the Circus of Life (41 Full-Color Cards and 180-Page Full-Color Guidebook)

Inkdeath

Inkheart

The Great When

The fantastical first instalment of the genre-busting Long London series

Fawlty Towers: Fawlts and All

The Sunday Times bestselling 50th anniversary celebration of the nation's beloved sitcom

Average at Best

A memoir from the creator of Pub Choir®

The Colour of Revenge

The Colour of Revenge PB

Wicked

The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical

The Anatomy of Story

22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller

Mind-Blowing Magic Tricks for Everyone

50 Step-by-Step Card, Coin, and Mentalism Tricks That Anyone Can Do

The Happiest Refugee

My Journey from Tragedy to Comedy

The Black Bird Oracle

The exhilarating new All Souls novel featuring Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont

This Is Fine Talking Figurine

With Light and Sound!

The Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Book

Speak to Achieve

How to Build Connection, Deepen Trust, Captivate Audiences, and Achieve Results

Afterthoughts

or Some Pistachios Won't Open - Wisdom for the Unreflective

The Star Wars Archives. 1999-2005. 45th Ed.

40th Edition

Sanford Meisner On Acting

Vintage Vintage

Musicals

The Definitive Illustrated Story

Can You Make This Thing Go Faster?

The World According to Clarkson

The Moon's a Balloon

The Guardian's Number One Hollywood Autobiography

Cunk on Everything

The Encyclopedia Philomena - 'Essential reading for these slipshod times' Al Murray

Ayoade on Top

Desert Dreams

The Music, Style, and Allure of Coachella

This product is categorised by