Book cover of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman

Book description

A critical analysis of autobiographical novels by women depicting the struggle to become creative artists. Each of the book's six chapters examines a single novel, including works such as Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar", Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" and Willa Cather's "The Song of the Lark".


When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

A weird part of writing memoir is needing to view yourself as a character. But it’s a necessary task, as all the best memoirs are written like a novel.

Because my “main character” was a writer who struggled to see herself as a writer, and often felt self-conscious about finishing the bucket list of a man, I had to learn about how female writers had historically been depicted.

One insight in Huf’s book was that kunstlerromans (or the coming-of-age of an artist novel) about male writers often depict him as effeminate, while kunstlerromans about female writers depict her as tomboy-ish. 

From Laura's list on embracing your main character energy.

If you love A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman.

Browse books like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman

Book cover of The Alchemist
Book cover of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Book cover of Frankenstein

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,395

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman, you might also like...

Book cover of Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence

Need to Know by Nicholas Reynolds,

The authoritative but accessible history of the birth of modern American intelligence in World War II that treats not just one but all of the various disciplines: spies, codebreakers, saboteurs.

Told in a relatable style that focuses on actual people, it was a New Yorker "Best of 2022" selection and…

Book cover of Tsunami

Tsunami by LeeAnn Pickrell,

On the morning of December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across fourteen countries, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Thailand to the Maldives to India and all the way to East Africa.…

5 book lists we think you will like!