Comic visions and female voices: Contemporary women novelists and the humor of the New South

The tradition of humor in American literature has been mainly dominated by male writers, both in primary and secondary texts. With a few notable exceptions, female comic writers have been virtually ignored until the postmodern era. Especially since the 1960s, a time when perceptions about women began to change radically, more and more women writers have emerged with something important to say, often expressing their ideas through the use of humor.; One of the geographic areas that has been particularly strong in the development of female humorous writers is the South, carrying on the tradition started by the humorists of the Old Southwest, continuing with Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and more recently, Eudora Welty and Flannery O'Connor, two writers who many critics agree have had the strongest influence on the content and style of female Southern writers today.; These strong roots of Southern humor have been instrumental in the development of a female style of humor, especially evident since 1970, creating a new voice and new vision for the South. This humorous voice is decidedly female, not only because of its methods, but also because of its intentions which vary significantly from those proposed by traditional male theorists of humor. Female humor in the South is significant and unique, and understanding it is instrumental in identifying and studying the voice and vision of the literature of the contemporary South.; Contemporary Southern women novelists use humor in many ways such as in healing, both physically and emotionally. Humor and its accompanying response, laughter, is also a way to bond with other women, thereby empowering oneself and gaining autonomy. In addition, humor is a way of exploring and redefining self in the postmodern world, and finally, satiric humor is a way to reconsider traditions of the Old South, questioning the stereotypes of Southern women, religion and God, relationships, and Southern traditional culture in the postmodern world. By taking a closer look at the woman writer's use of humor, a new understanding and perspective concerning the new vision of the South and its literature is possible.