Michèle Roberts’ second novel offers a more tentative vision of a woman’s life than the novels which precede and succeed it. In many ways The Visitation may be read as a transitional text in Roberts’ oeuvre, problematizing the conclusions reached in her first novel, A Piece of the Night [see entry], and introducing issues raised more explicitly in her later work. This novel follows a central protagonist, Helen Home, in her search for a balance between her relationships with men, her intimate friendships with women, and her desire to be a writer. The novel begins in the womb, where Helen and her twin brother, Felix, are represented as Eve a…

1989 words

Citation: White, Rosemary. "The Visitation". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 January 2004 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10196, accessed 29 March 2024.]

10196 The Visitation 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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