Focusing on the traits and types of guises usually associated with the "bitch" character in literature (evil stepmothers, village gossips, sinful sirens and so on), this book argues that, after a notable absence from the feminist writing of the 1960s and '70s, the bitch is coming back.

Ubiquitous in other forms of media, the bitch was noticeably absent from the feminist literary canon. Aguiar, however, points to indications in contemporary culture that the season of the bitch is fast approaching. Contemporary feminist writers and theorists are making substantial re-evaluations of the archetypal bitch. Focusing on the traits and the types of guises usually associated with this vital character, Aguiar discusses such characters as Zenia in Margaret Atwood's "The Robber Bride", Ruth Patchett in Fay Weldon's "The Life and Loves of a She-Devil", Sula in Toni Morrison's "Sula" and Ginny in Jane Smiley's "A Thousand Acres".