But "Hero Strong" and Other Stories does much more than recover the work of a forgotten literary prodigy. As explained by historian Daniel A. Cohen, Gibson's tales also illuminate major interrelated transformations in American girlhood and American women's authorship. Challenging traditional gender expectations, thousands of girls of Gibson's generation not only aspired to public careers as writers, artists, educators, and even doctors but also began to experiment with new forms of "female masculinity" in attitude, bearing, behavior, dress, and sexuality-a pattern only gradually domesticated by the nonthreatening image of the "tomboy." Some, such as Gibson, at once realized and reenacted their dreams on the pages of antebellum story papers.
This first modern scholarly edition of Mary Gibson's early fiction features ten tales of teenage girls (seemingly much like Gibson herself) who fearlessly appropriate masculine traits, defy contemporary gender norms, and struggle to fulfill high worldly ambitions. In addition to several heroines who seek "fame and riches" as authors or artists, Gibson's unconventional protagonists include three female medical students who resort to grave robbing and a Boston ingenue who dreams of achieving military glory in battle. By moving beyond "literary domesticity" and embracing bold new models of women's authorship, artistry, and worldly achievement, Gibson and her fictional protagonists stand as exemplars of "the first generation of American girls who imagined they could do almost anything."
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