Examines seven idealistic women writers from England, France, Germany, and ancient Greece and their confrontation with the threat of war From ancient Greece to the present day, women writers have confronted the male urge to make war by imagining communities in which intuitive bonding among individuals questions and replaces masculinist values of aggression and competition. Women's Vision in Western Literature traces the "gender gap" in literature from 600 B.C. to the present day through an examination of seven extraordinary women writers: Sappho, Marie de France, Madame de Stael, Mary Shelley, Virginia Woolf, Marguerite Yourcenar, and Christa Wolf. Combining close readings with a comprehensive overview of the careers of these women, Porter shows how the threat, the experience, and the aftermath of war incite them to imagine tolerant, empathic communities. This careful consideration of seven great writers brings to light an underappreciated aspect of Western women's writing.; Part of the Contributions in Women's Studies series; Includes coverage of often-overlooked women authors; Covers women from ancient times to the present