In this important study, Rebecca Smith (no relation to the author of this study) uses language theory and feminist critical theory to examine Lee Smith's "critique" of gender ideology in her fiction. This book charts Lee Smith's fictional exploration of the cultural devaluation of women and of the traditional romance plot.

An in-depth look at Smith's appropriation of male myth, images and language, all of which she uses to deconstruct traditional gender arrangements, the work chronologically covers Lee Smith's first nine novels and her two short story collections.