‘The Good Terrorist(s)’? Interrogating Gender and Violence in Ann Devlin’s ‘Naming the Names’ and Anna Burns’ No Bones

Abstract

Abstract. This paper aims to analyse the depiction of IRA female volunteers in Ann Devlin's "Naming the Names" (1986) and Anna Burns ' No Bones (2001) and to consider the relationship established between gender and violence in these texts. I investigate the extent to which the female terrorists portrayed conform to the "mother, monster, whore" paradigm identified by Laura Sjoberg and Caron Gentry (2007) in their study of women's violence in global politics and consider what differences, if any, are established with these characters' male counterparts. The ways in which both authors destabilise traditional gender stereotypes is also explored, as is the question of whether these texts might be considered as feminist fictions. Resumen. El artículo se propone analizar la presentación de activistas del IRA en el relato "Naming the Names" (1986) de Ann Devlin y la novela No Bones (2001) de Anna Burns, y considerar la relación que se establece entre género y violencia en dichos textos. Se investiga en qué medida las mujeres terroristas descritas se ajustan al paradigma de "madre, monstruo, prostituta" identificado por Laura Sjoberg y Caron Gentry (2007) en su estudio sobre la violencia en la política global, y se considera si es que se establecen diferencias con sus homólogos masculinos. Se exploran las formas en que ambas autoras desestabilizan estereotipos de género, así como la posible adscripción de los textos a la ficción feminista.Palabras clave. Mujeres terroristas, IRA, género, violencia, ficción, Norte de Irlanda.Strong, powerful, militant women loom large in the mythology and history of Ireland, and yet, as Brendan Kennelly has pointed out, "[t]he history, or herstory, of Irish women is rather like that of the Irish language -much talked about but little heard" (1995: xx). From _________

The Making of a Terrorist: Imagining Combatants’ Points of View in Troubles Literature

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