"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen is compared with a couple of books from the popular self-publishing website, Wattpad. It is examined whether Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy fit the archetypes...Show more"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen is compared with a couple of books from the popular self-publishing website, Wattpad. It is examined whether Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy fit the archetypes of 'good girl" and "bad boy" respectively and whether their relationship can be classified as "enemies to lovers."Show less
This thesis critically explores the published scholarship on the concept of eighteenth-century chastity, and examines how chastity and agency function within the literature by conducting a...Show moreThis thesis critically explores the published scholarship on the concept of eighteenth-century chastity, and examines how chastity and agency function within the literature by conducting a historically-informed close reading of Richardson’s Pamela and Haywood’s Fantomina. It demonstrates that the literary representations of virtue in these novels reveal the construction of virginity as a performance of an intangible concept that is economically valuable, and highlight the fact that virginity is intrinsically linked to the concept of agency.Show less
Browsing through the archives of the Rotterdam Public Library, I discovered that the historic book collection contains a single publication by an English woman at the seventeenth-century Rotterdam...Show moreBrowsing through the archives of the Rotterdam Public Library, I discovered that the historic book collection contains a single publication by an English woman at the seventeenth-century Rotterdam publishing house of Goddaeus, that of Katherine Sutton. Asking myself why this was the only book by a woman to be published at Goddaeus’ publishing house, my curiosity was aroused to find out why this English woman chose to publish a book in the Netherlands. It challenged me to discover if more women found their way to Rotterdam to publish their work and what their motives were. I found out that in the second half of the seventeenth century, more English women travelled to the Netherlands to seek refuge and two of them had their work published by Goddaeus: Katherine Sutton (1630-63) and Mary Hampson (1639-1698). Although they migrated in different time periods and for different reasons, they both seized the opportunity to publish their life experiences at a Dutch publishing house. Although the historical archives offer little to no information on the reason for their connection to Goddaeus, the fact that both women took their chance to publish their works while in exile, in their native language at a Dutch publishing house, triggered me to find out more. What follows here, is an overview of the cultural-historical context of the seventeenth century; an overview of connections and differences between English and Dutch society; the social impact of the seventeenth century printing industry; the position of women and their position to write; and ultimately how this culminates in the aim of these two women in particular, to pursue truth by making their life experiences public by means of print.Show less
Derry Girls provides a humorous take on the Northern Irish Troubles. The sitcom, following the lives of a group of teenagers living in Derry in the 1990’s, combines the grimness of the sectarian...Show moreDerry Girls provides a humorous take on the Northern Irish Troubles. The sitcom, following the lives of a group of teenagers living in Derry in the 1990’s, combines the grimness of the sectarian conflict with the recognisability of teenage hardship. In the series, trauma is inherently linked to the everyday concepts of youth, humour, and community. These concepts are used to allow the characters and the audience to think critically on the events occurring in the series, as the conflict is presented with such normalcy. Additionally, they highlight a sense of hope and kinship and advocate for a youth-inclusive approach to peacebuilding. The series can also be seen as a product of its time; not only does it portray the zeitgeist of 1990’s Derry, it is also a response to the ongoing violence and paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement. Derry Girls underlines the importance of community in the processing of trauma, established the ‘Derry Girls’ as an exemplification of peacebuilding, and uses humour as a means of the demystification of conflict.Show less
This thesis explores the question of how Andrew Davies’ 1995 BBC serial adaptation and Joe Wright’s 2005 movie adaptation of Jane Austen’s homonymous Pride & Prejudice (re)present female desire...Show moreThis thesis explores the question of how Andrew Davies’ 1995 BBC serial adaptation and Joe Wright’s 2005 movie adaptation of Jane Austen’s homonymous Pride & Prejudice (re)present female desire on screen. This research examines and consults adaptation theory to gain a better understanding of what transpires when adapting a concept such as desire from a novel onto a screen. Implicit instances of desire are explored in the novel, so as to contrast those occurrences with how they are translated on to the screen. Close readings of relevant scenes provide insight into the use of camerawork, acting, dialogue and framing and how they enhance the audience’s attention to the depictions of desire, love, attraction and interest. What this research can conclude is that both productions acknowledge the desire present in the novel, be it implicit, and translate it onto the screen in a literalized manner, highlighting on different ways how that desire could be conveyed. Both adaptations recognize the importance of transmitting information through glances and looks – their focus ranging from shared looks between characters to the female’s independent gaze.Show less
