Technology has rapidly progressed since the Industrial Revolution in the medical, political and environmental fields. It has become an element that is essential and unavoidable at the present time....Show moreTechnology has rapidly progressed since the Industrial Revolution in the medical, political and environmental fields. It has become an element that is essential and unavoidable at the present time. Although technological enhancements have their positive influences, there is the reality of negative consequences tied to this progression. The recurring debates regarding positive and negative influences of technology on society is still prevalent. These concerns and consequences have been reflected and portrayed in numerous science fiction series and films. This includes the popular British series, Doctor Who, which explores the consequences and concerns tied to technological enhancements. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the manner in which Doctor Who presents the dire consequences tied to technological enhancements within the posthumanism and transhumanism frameworks. The social and ethical notions are challenged by presenting technology at its most extreme. This is done by analyzing the recurring villain, the Cybermen, who are the epitome of the fusion between man and machine. The analysis is based on episodes both from the Classic Who era and the NuWho era to provide a detailed insight into the changes the Cybermen have undergone, and the manner in which they reflect the cultural zeitgeist. The study discovered that the representation of the Cybermen challenge the notions of posthumanism and transhumanism. The increasingly blurred boundaries between man and machine are a realistic, albeit fictional concern resulting in the prevalance of the debate concerning the rapid progression of technological enhancements.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
This thesis discusses the representation of spinsters in mid-Victorian literary fiction, examining how different authors deviate from the negative view of these unmarried women and respond to the...Show moreThis thesis discusses the representation of spinsters in mid-Victorian literary fiction, examining how different authors deviate from the negative view of these unmarried women and respond to the contemporary debate on their ‘superfluity’. It analyses the representation of spinsterhood in three novels from the mid-Victorian period: Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford (1853); Charlotte Brontë’s Villette (1853); and Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861). This thesis argues that these authors take spinsters out of their marginal space, and present them at the heart of their texts. Moreover, by granting spinsters a central position and considerable power, these mid-Victorian authors validate their existence, oppose their ‘superfluity’, and demonstrate that women can be unmarried and independent instead of relying on men.Show less
This thesis examines attitudes towards feminism and the New Woman movement in the 1890s and 1900s in relation to the representations of female criminal characters in the following works: Thomas...Show moreThis thesis examines attitudes towards feminism and the New Woman movement in the 1890s and 1900s in relation to the representations of female criminal characters in the following works: Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891); Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories; and Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent (1907). The thesis argues that the texts all contain a paradox considering the agency of criminal women. On the one hand, Hardy, Doyle and Conrad depict the criminal woman as a symbol of choice and agency. On the other hand, the texts also cast doubt on the idea that agency is possible for anyone when the criminological (often deterministic) explanations for the crime are taken into account.Show less
This thesis explores the themes of family, loss and belonging in Wes Anderson's Rushmore (1998), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), and Moonrise Kingdom (2012). The thesis connects objects and places...Show moreThis thesis explores the themes of family, loss and belonging in Wes Anderson's Rushmore (1998), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), and Moonrise Kingdom (2012). The thesis connects objects and places within these films to the abovementioned themes, and shows parallels between the use of objects in these films and the way in which objects are used in George Eliot's novel The Mill on the Floss (1860) - objects have a multiplicity of functions in both. Key to Anderson's films are relations between characters, and objects and places in the films signify these bonds. In the end, the characters in the films find a place to belong in the other.Show less
This thesis takes three works of prose fiction from the Victorian and Edwardian period that contain animal characters that interact with the human world. The fantastic narratives that will be...Show moreThis thesis takes three works of prose fiction from the Victorian and Edwardian period that contain animal characters that interact with the human world. The fantastic narratives that will be explored are: Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865); Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Books (1894-5); and Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows (1908). Furthermore, it argues that anthropomorphism and zoomorphism act as core elements in these narratives to describe the complex formation of identity in Victorian Britain and to provide an opportunity covertly to criticize issues in the Victorian social class system. Furthermore, the thesis analyses these magical worlds as places where children’s imagination can play with the animal-human divide.Show less
This thesis examines how Ruth Ware's The Turn of the Key (2019), Floria Sigismondi's The Turning (2020) and Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) portray the governess as the true victim...Show moreThis thesis examines how Ruth Ware's The Turn of the Key (2019), Floria Sigismondi's The Turning (2020) and Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) portray the governess as the true victim of the story, instead of the children, as perhaps happens in Henry James's The Turn of the Screw (1898).Show less
This thesis explores some of the different ways that scholars and authors have dealt with the Arthurian legends when working within different cultural contexts. The aim of this thesis is to analyze...Show moreThis thesis explores some of the different ways that scholars and authors have dealt with the Arthurian legends when working within different cultural contexts. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the use of Arthurian legends over time and to compare the relevance of those legends in cultures familiar with the story, such as America, and cultures less familiar with the story, such as Japan. The comparison will be aimed at shedding light on how differences in the interpretations of Arthurian legends between America and Japan reflect, or are caused by, differences in each culture’s familiarity with said legends.Show less
This thesis looks at how adolescence is symbolised by children's journeys to exotic Fairylands. This is a place where they learn to integrate their emotional side (id/unconsious) with their moral...Show moreThis thesis looks at how adolescence is symbolised by children's journeys to exotic Fairylands. This is a place where they learn to integrate their emotional side (id/unconsious) with their moral/conscious side (superego/ego/persona). The integration of these elements signifies maturity. The thesis takes Bruno Bettelheim's Freudian analysis of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale 'Brother and Sister' as a 'base structure' and looks at how this structure is applicable to three books from the early twentieth century: Nesbit's "Phoenix and the Carpet", J.M. Barrie's "Peter and Wendy" and Hope Mirrlees's "Lud-in-the-Mist".Show less
This thesis offers an analysis of the development of Salman's Rushdie's work through a close reading of two early novels (Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses) and two most recent novels (The...Show moreThis thesis offers an analysis of the development of Salman's Rushdie's work through a close reading of two early novels (Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses) and two most recent novels (The Golden House and Quichotte). The research question is to establish whether a major change in style has taken place. The premise is that a shift seems to have taken place from what Brian McHale calls the ontological dominant in postmodernism to an ethical and moral dominant. This thesis focuses particularly on typical postmodern topics such as the questioning of the ontological relationship between reality and truth, since Rushdie’s style of fantastical writing invites such a focus.Show less