Perspectives

Literary period

“Mink” by Marina Warner is a contemporary postmodernist short story. Postmodernism encompasses the literary period starting with the 1950s-1960s and up to the present day. The postmodernist features you can identify in Mink are: the story is set in a post-WWII context and deals with issues in post-war society, and the author uses postmodernist narrative techniques such as fragmentation and first-person narrator. Also, exploring issues related to feminism and the environment are also common themes for Postmodernism.

Thematic perspective

The story was written to celebrate 50 years since The Feminine Mystique was published by Betty Friedan, a non-fiction book credited with inspiring second-wave feminism in the US.

The book argued against the concept of feminine mystique, an idea that suggested women were fulfi...