My Master Thesis will focus on comparing two works of fiction, Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography and Charlie Kaufman’s 2020 film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. These two seemingly...Show moreMy Master Thesis will focus on comparing two works of fiction, Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography and Charlie Kaufman’s 2020 film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. These two seemingly unrelated and temporally distant works find common ground in their complex interpretation of the theme of Time. Both Woolf’s writing and Kaufman’s cinematography manage to capture the intricacy of non-linear time, and history through the lens of subjectivity and individual consciousness. This Thesis's main aim is to thoroughly analyze how both works destabilize the commonly misunderstood concept of Time and in turn, highlight a different, more philosophical side of it. To do so effectively, I will utilize Henri Bergson’s philosophy and specifically his concept of “la durée” (duration), which he extensively theorizes upon in his books “Creative Evolution” and “Time and Free Will”. Themes of Subjectivity, gender, as well as rebirth/creation, will all be inspected in various ways through Bergson’s theories.Show less
This thesis critically explores the literary representations of passivity in the sentimental novel, and examines how passivity relates to agency by conducting a close reading of Samuel Richardson’s...Show moreThis thesis critically explores the literary representations of passivity in the sentimental novel, and examines how passivity relates to agency by conducting a close reading of Samuel Richardson’s Pamela and Clarissa. It reveals that the concepts of passivity and agency are not inherently contradictory by demonstrating that the heroines of Richardson’s novels are able to enact agency through their passivity.Show less
The thesis explores how the abject reproductive system in Ulysses conveys a sense of a lost future and how it reveals the discourse of reproductive futurism in Irish Roman Catholicism in early...Show moreThe thesis explores how the abject reproductive system in Ulysses conveys a sense of a lost future and how it reveals the discourse of reproductive futurism in Irish Roman Catholicism in early twentieth century.Show less
This thesis examines the evolution of zombie symbolism in George Romero's Living Dead series (1968-2009), reflecting post-World War II neoliberal capitalist societal changes and shifting cultural...Show moreThis thesis examines the evolution of zombie symbolism in George Romero's Living Dead series (1968-2009), reflecting post-World War II neoliberal capitalist societal changes and shifting cultural fears and values regarding power, class, and race in the United States. Initially depicted as mindless, flesh-eating monsters, Romero’s zombies gradually evolve into complex, sympathetic beings, contrasting with the devolution of human survivors into unsympathetic creatures driven by one-dimensional desires. This contrast critiques neoliberal societal and economic developments over the decades, providing a unique perspective on American culture and its embrace of developing capitalist ideology. Utilizing Nietzsche's concept of transvaluation, the thesis explores how Romero's zombies transcend their traditional roles to become adaptive symbols that critique contemporary American societal issues, including racism, consumerism, class inequality, and human coexistence.Show less
The present thesis analyses the character Julia from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), as she appears in the original, the film adaptation 1984 (1984), and Sandra Newman’s new feminist...Show moreThe present thesis analyses the character Julia from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), as she appears in the original, the film adaptation 1984 (1984), and Sandra Newman’s new feminist retelling Julia (2023). This thesis consists of three chapters, each devoted to exploring one of the three works. Chapter 1 focuses on the original story of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Chapter 2 on the film adaptation 1984, and Chapter 3 on Julia. These three chapters analyse Julia’s character, how she navigates the restrictions of her surroundings, and how the plot affects her. The first chapter mainly introduces the novel, explores Julia’s character, and the solid elements and pitfalls of Orwell’s description and creation of Julia. The second chapter focuses on (film) adaptation studies and intertextuality, where the shift in the medium will be discussed, and the chapter stresses the changes to Julia’s character. The final chapter extensively analyses Julia’s character, where the similarities and differences between the other works will be considered and discussed utilising adaptation studies, intertextuality, feminism and concepts of sexuality. The thesis concludes with a brief reflection where the research questions are redefined, discussed, and answered.Show less
In this thesis I analyze in what sense and through which literary devices mosses are represented as communicating in Kimmerer´s essay collection Gathering Moss.´The voices of mosses' is not a mere...Show moreIn this thesis I analyze in what sense and through which literary devices mosses are represented as communicating in Kimmerer´s essay collection Gathering Moss.´The voices of mosses' is not a mere metaphor, instead, mosses are represented as actively communicating through their being and movement. For example, when mosses change their color from luscious green to withered brown, this change in their outward appearance is understood as a message.Show less
The present study challenges the image of pessimism associated with modernist poetry. By exploring the poetry of T. S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats, and Ezra Pound using Ernst Bloch’s principle of hope, it...Show moreThe present study challenges the image of pessimism associated with modernist poetry. By exploring the poetry of T. S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats, and Ezra Pound using Ernst Bloch’s principle of hope, it becomes apparent how, for all three poets as well as for Bloch, language is bestowed with a foundational faith. Hope manifests itself in a desire to overcome the waste land’s teleological void in Eliot, to come to terms with the totalitarian inescapability of death in Yeats, and, in Pound, to articulate absolute essence.Show less
The Old English Heptateuch, also known as the Old English Hexateuch, is an Old English Bible translation from the late Anglo-Saxon period. Four translators were involved in the work, but only one...Show moreThe Old English Heptateuch, also known as the Old English Hexateuch, is an Old English Bible translation from the late Anglo-Saxon period. Four translators were involved in the work, but only one of their identities is known: that is, Ælfric of Eynsham. Even though Ælfric claims that no changes to the meaning of the Bible were made in translating the Vulgate, many passages were shortened, reworded or omitted altogether. This thesis analyzes how the translators treated sexuality in the Bible and made it appropriate for an Anglo-Saxon audience, which included laymen.Show less
In recent years, novels centring on female characters form Greek mythology have quickly grown into a popular subgenre. Many of these novels use their mythological sources as a backdrop to focus on...Show moreIn recent years, novels centring on female characters form Greek mythology have quickly grown into a popular subgenre. Many of these novels use their mythological sources as a backdrop to focus on feminist issues, revising classical narratives to show the continuity of feminist concerns. This is typically done by shifting the focus away from male characters who recieve most attention in their classical sources and focussing instead on female characters who have been pushed to the margins or silenced entirely. This thesis uses Alicia Ostriker's term "feminist revisionist mythmaking" to describe how adaptation of Greek mythology can be used to bring forth silenced voices of female characters and simultaneously speak out against patriarchy and oppression of women. With this in mind, three recent feminist revisionist novels are analysed: Circe by Madeline Miller, The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, and Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes. These novels are part of the wave of feminist revisionist retellings following the rise of the #MeToo movement and an argument is made that the movement's concerns are reflected in the novels. This thesis aims to show that revisions of Greek mythology can be used as a potent vehicle for feminist issues of today, not in spite of their ancient source material, but precisely because the seeds of these issues are already present in Greek myths themselves.Show less
