Woman has been defined in classic political theory as elusive yet dangerous, by her nature fundamentally destructive to public life. In the view of Linda M. G. Zerilli, however, gender relations shape the very grammar of citizenship. In deeply textured interpretations of Rousseau, Burke, and Mill, Zerilli recasts our understanding of woman as the agent of social chaos and makes a major advance for feminist political theory.

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Signifying Woman is in many respects a benchmark in feminist political theory. What Zerilli sets out to do (and successfully does) is to argue that a feminist critical practice of reading texts in political theory is insufficient if confined to efforts to 'get woman' right.