Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Vidal, Gore (Vol. 142) - Catharine R. Stimpson (essay date Fall 1991)

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Catharine R. Stimpson (essay date Fall 1991)

SOURCE: “My O My O Myra,” in New England Review, Vol. 14, No. 1, Fall, 1991, pp. 102-15.

[In the following essay, Stimpson examines the archetypal themes and power dynamics of sexuality and gender identity in Myra Breckenridge and Myron, drawing attention to the function of these motifs in Vidal's critique of modern culture.]

My o my o Myra, my o my o Myron. Myra rides and Myron clowns through Myra Breckenridge and Myron, Gore Vidal’s wild, steely, and amazing rodeos of the word.¹ Vidal has coupled Myra and Myron as tightly as Jack and Jill, then filled their names to the rim and brimmed them with meanings. Surely Myra, my “ra,” is at once a deity; the symbol of radium, a radioactive element; and a cheer, Bronx-inflected, in the sports stadium of America. “M,” inverted, is “W,” the lead letter in that group “Woman.” Surely Myron, my...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. Carolyn See (review date 14 January 1990)
   2. Richard Reeves (review date 18 February 1990)
   3. Catharine R. Stimpson (essay date Fall 1991)
   4. Hilary Mantel (review date 16 November 1991)
   5. Mary Lefkowitz (review date 6 December 1991)
   6. John Rechy (review date 13 September 1992)
   7. Andrew Greeley (review date 20 September 1992)
   8. Eric Korn (review date 2 October 1992)
   9. Alfred Kazin (review date 5 October 1992)
   10. Caroline Moore (review date 10 October 1992)
   11. Douglas Kennedy (review date 6 November 1992)
   12. Irving Malin (review date 6 November 1992)
   13. Gilbert Adair (review date 28 November 1992)
   14. Diane Johnson (review date 8 April 1993)
   15. Jonathan Raban (review date 23 May 1993)
   16. Rhoda Koenig (review date 31 May 1993)
   17. Roz Kaveney (review date 8 October 1993)
   18. Frederic Raphael (review date 9 October 1993)
   19. Ben MacIntyre (review date 5 November 1993)
   20. Gregory Woods (review date 29 July 1994)
   21. James McCourt (review date 1 October 1995)
   22. Bevis Hillier (review date 14 October 1995)
   23. Hugh Brogan (review date 27 October 1995)
   24. John Simon (review date December 1995)
   25. Marvin J. LaHood (review date Summer 1996)
   26. John Bayley (review date 15 May 1997)
   27. Rupert Christiansen (review date 30 August 1997)
   28. Merle Rubin (review date 15 March 1998)
   29. Keith Miller (review date 16 October 1998)
   30. D. J. Taylor (review date 24 October 1998)
   31. Christopher Hitchens (review date 22 April 1999)
   32. Sylvia Brownrigg (review date 30 April 1999)
   33. Marvin J. LaHood (review date Winter 2000)
   34. Don Fletcher and Kate Feros (essay date March 2000)
   35. Hugo Barnacle (review date 6 November 2000)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright