Abstract
Judith Merril was a writer committed to breaking down norms, barriers, and boundaries. This chapter examines four ways in which Merril challenges the boundaries or barriers between ideas. First, Merril bridges the gaps between science and pseudoscience. Second, Merril breaks down the notion of nation or nationality, especially in her treatment of human/alien encounters. Third, Merril challenges gender divisions, often featuring female characters at a time when they tended to be secondary at best; she also includes conventional “feminine” concerns such as love, maternity, and domestic work. Finally, she challenges the division between mainstream and genre literature, seeing the gap between “science fiction” and “literature” as artificial.
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References
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Calvin, R. (2019). Nevermind the Gap: Judith Merril Challenges the Status Quo. In: Ransom, A., Grace, D. (eds) Canadian Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Studies in Global Science Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15685-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15685-5_3
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