ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses life history of Marina Warner, a feminist thinker, whose work on myth traces the layered historical and cultural meanings of feminine symbols and allegories. In her early work on myth and monuments, Warner traces the iterations and innovations of the myths of the Virgin Mary and Joan of Arc as well as the feminine form of national symbols such as Lady Liberty. In more recent work on fairytales such as the Arabian Nights, Warner explores the power of imagination in bodily metamorphosis and cultural hybridity. Warner's work increasingly engages the expansive realm of fable and fairytales, where feminine figures remain central as both characters and creators. From the prodigious power of Shahrazad's memory, imagination, and language, Warner draws a vital and still unfolding contribution to an intellectual tradition of "reasoned imagination" that echoes through Freud, Benjamin, and a host of others.
