How to Turn a Forgotten Figure of American History into a National and Gender Emblem: Joyce Carol Oates’s Treatment of Mary Jo Kopechne in Black Water
How to Turn a Forgotten Figure of American History into a National and Gender Emblem: Joyce Carol Oates’s Treatment of Mary Jo Kopechne in Black Water

Summary/Abstract: On July 18, 1969, Senator EdwardKennedy was involved in a car accident on Chap-paquiddick Island (Massachusetts). While Kenne-dy managed to get out of his car, the womanwho was riding with him, Mary Jo Kopechne,whom he had met at a party a few hours before,died from asphyxiation. The aim of this paper isto show how the American author Joyce CarolOates used this story, setting it in the 1990s,for her 1992 novel Black Water. Through thecharacter of Kelly Kelleher, the writer builds anational and gender emblem using Kopechneas a springboard. The final aim of the operationis to highlight the contemporary condition ofwomen and to “bear witness” for those whocannot speak for themselves anymore.

• Details
• Contents