Character invention in the letters of Maimie Pinzer

The concept of “narrative” is becoming an avenue through which scholars can privilege nontraditional forms of communication. Communication scholars have been attempting to discover how some narratives may “ring true” with an audience by studying the strategies of the storytellers. This study brings these two impulses together through a case study of autobiographical letters written by a turn of the century prostitute to a Boston matron. In creating a narrative of her life, the author uses several rhetorical strategies to recreate her character so as to persuade her audience that she is worthy of respect. In so doing, she also persuades herself.

Key concepts:

• Pinzer
• Mamie
• narrative theory
• characterization
• women's correspondence
• prostitution
• Cixous