Sex and Violence in Northern Irish Women’s Fiction

This chapter examines the ways in which Northern Irish women’s fiction written during and after the Troubles explores difficult and contentious themes, particularly those relating to emotional and sexual relationships conducted against the backdrop or memory of murderous violence. It argues that this body of fiction puts forward a critique that, while not always a direct comment on the politics of combat, represents a subtle intervention in the cultural life of the province. Focusing on works composed during the early 1980s and those published between 2006 and 2016, the analysis pays particular attention to the ways in which Northern Irish women’s fiction unsettles the masculinist ideologies of nationalism and unionism. The discussion engages with a range of novels, from the Troubles writing of Linda Anderson, Brenda Murphy, and Anne Devlin through to more recent work by Lucy Caldwell, Bernie McGill, and Jan Carson.

Interview with Filmmaker Pat Murphy

FILMMAKER Pat Murphy began studying art at the Ulster College of Art and Design and was the first European to spend a scholarship year at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She holds an MA in Film and Television from the Royal College of Arts, London. Pat Murphy was a founder board member of Film Base in 1987, and has taught Film Studies and Film History at a number of institutions. She is currently a lecturer in Film Studies at Queens University Belfast. Her Films include Maeve (1981) Anne Devlin (1984) and Nora (2001) which was selected for the Berlin Film Festival and won the First prize at the Trieste Film Festival for Best Script. (1) SOURCES Desmond Bell: Pat - where did the idea for the film Nora come from? Pat Murphy: It originally came from Brenda Maddox's book of the same name.(1) I...