Much criticism of 19th century American literature written during the last quarter century has been structured by the concept of separate spheres, a construction that often is recreated in contemporary critical practice. The contributors to this special issue examine and contest the way the category of gender - male versus female, extending to include, for example, the opposition between public and private, worldly and domestic - has organised critical discussion regarding the formulation of American literature. Challenging the separate spheres model, these essays ask how other categories complicate this paradigm, especially with regard to issues of race, sexuality, class, region, religion, and occupation.