On the Essay: A Gendered Evolution of Narrative Presence in the Personal Essay

Abstract

The unassuming power behind the essay is what makes modern attempts so crucial. Overt forms, obvious attempts lend themselves to criticism and censorship. These are the violences that are often silenced by the oppressor, or inaccessible to the oppressed: the novel, the news article, the historical account. The edges of the essayistic form are blurred. Despite its "second class citizenship," a piece can be grounded in science, as much as personal testimony; it can be formal or informal. Even Adorno, in writing on the essay, acknowledges its power of hybridity: "In its relationship to scientific procedure and its philosophical grounding as method, the essay, in accordance with its idea, draws the fullest conclusions from the critique of system". In its innate slipperiness, the essay frees up the individual and frees up the concept. In a way, no one pays attention to the essay. Zadie Smith's White Teeth will be more popular than Feel Free ever will be. Joan Didion won those awards for journalism and memoir. Essay writing is a side-gig at best. But the fringe existence of the form vests it with the power to say something that more obvious forms cannot, and to say it with creative ownership at that. [From concluding section]