Current feminist theory, in validating women's own
stories of their experience, has encouraged scholars
of women's history to view the use of women's oral
narratives as the methodology, next to the use of
(5)women's written autobiography, that brings historians
closest to the "reality" of women's lives. Such
narratives, unlike most standard histories, represent
experience from the perspective of women, affirm
the importance of women's contributions, and furnish
(10) present-day women with historical continuity that is
essential to their identity, individually and collectively.
Scholars of women's history should, however, be
as cautious about accepting oral narratives at face
value as they already are about written memories.
(15) Oral narratives are no more likely than are written
narratives to provide a disinterested commentary on
events or people. Moreover, the stories people tell to
explain themselves are shaped by narrative devices
and storytelling conventions, as well as by other
(20) cultural and historical factors, in ways that the
storytellers may be unaware of. The political rhetoric
of a particular era, for example, may influence
women's interpretations of the significance of their
experience. Thus a woman who views the Second
(25) World War as pivotal in increasing the social
acceptance of women's paid work outside the home
may reach that conclusion partly and unwittingly
because of wartime rhetoric encouraging a positive
view of women's participation in such work.
40. According to the passage, scholars of women's history
should refrain from doing which of the following?
(A) Relying on traditional historical sources when
women's oral narratives are unavailable
(B) Focusing on the influence of political rhetoric on
women's perceptions to the exclusion of other
equally important factors
(C) Attempting to discover the cultural and historical
factors that influence the stories women tell
(D) Assuming that the conventions of women's
written autobiographies are similar to the
conventions of women's oral narratives
(E) Accepting women's oral narratives less critically
than they accept women's written histories
