Garner’s diaries were used as the basis for the novel, an inherently subjective artefact which in Garner’s case functioned as a space of intervention of the phallogocentric. This milieu is best examined through Derrida’s portmanteau theory of phallogocentrism: the privileging of the masculine (the phallic) in the construction of meaning, which is achieved through words and language (logos) (Nithiyendran). The co-existence of both realities is prevalent through Monkey Grip’s exploration of the “rift between the emotional” (behaviour) “and the theoretical” (ideologically-feminist), in which many of Garner’s characters live (Scerri). the inability of Garner to completely deconstruct phallogocentrism due to the autobiographical nature of the novel and the patriarchal context in which the novel was written. the movement away from phallogocentrism and b. Personally, I’m interested in two coexisting phenomena in Monkey Grip: a. This isn’t to say that the power of Monkey Grip lies in Garner’s disinterest in writing a feminist text, rather that her prioritisation of depicting real life as opposed to analysing it through a particular lens, functions as an unprecedented representation of what it meant to be a woman in 1970s Australia. Although Garner has historically turned her nose up at the classification, her lack of absolute commitment to the ideology in her writing and her commitment to writing the novel she wanted as opposed to the one she ought to write, may be the reason it is so emblematic of the female and feminist experience (Calvino vii).

Helen Garner’s Monkey Grip is regarded as one of Australia’s first feminist novels (Simic). Yet this is unmistakably a book by a feminist… clearly recognisable as a woman whose central identity is her own.” “Helen Garner has written a book called ‘Monkey Grip’, about a woman called Nora who falls in love, passionately and most unwisely with a junkie. And by bitches, I mean me, and every other indie kid and/or English/Creative Writing major in the greater Melbourne Area.

Book monkey grip