This thesis discusses the role of orphans in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist and Bleak House. It argues that the role of the orphan is to function as a literary device with which the ideology of the...Show moreThis thesis discusses the role of orphans in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist and Bleak House. It argues that the role of the orphan is to function as a literary device with which the ideology of the Victorian family can be challenged as well as consolidated.Show less
This thesis deals with the meta theatrical devices Shakespeare uses throughout Hamlet, and the effects these devices have on the viewers of film adaptations of this play. The meta theatrical and...Show moreThis thesis deals with the meta theatrical devices Shakespeare uses throughout Hamlet, and the effects these devices have on the viewers of film adaptations of this play. The meta theatrical and meta cinematic distances the audience. The alienation of the audience allows them to reflect upon the events in a way that would not be possible without employing Brecht’s theory of alienation. THis thesis will examine the meta-theatrical elements in Hamlet, and show how these can be applied to alienate the audience.Show less
This thesis examines the question of how John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress has been read from the end of the twentieth until the beginning of the twenty-first century, particularly by modern-day...Show moreThis thesis examines the question of how John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress has been read from the end of the twentieth until the beginning of the twenty-first century, particularly by modern-day Dutch Calvinists.Show less
This thesis examines the theme of gender hierarchy in William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy The Taming of the Shrew (1592). The gender relations in the play are complex: its title, referring to the...Show moreThis thesis examines the theme of gender hierarchy in William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy The Taming of the Shrew (1592). The gender relations in the play are complex: its title, referring to the taming of Kate by her husband-to-be Petruchio, already suggests that women are going to be put down as the inferior sex. However, it is not as simple as that. Throughout the play, the question remains of whether Petruchio actually does tame Katherine. If he does, moreover, it is worth examining the precise meaning of this ‘taming’, and the ‘taming’ methods which Petruchio employs. In addition, the meaning of the play depends to a significant extent on the staging decisions made by the director. For example, different stagings may invite different responses to the wager, in the closing scene, on who has the most obedient wife. All of this has caused scholars and directors alike to interpret this play in very different ways, attributing widely divergent labels to it, ranging from ‘patriarchal’ or even ‘misogynistic’, to ‘satirical’ and ‘pre-feminist’. I have studied commentaries by scholars with interpretations on both ends of the spectrum to identify the foundation for their particular analyses. I also offer a close-reading of the play, focusing especially on those scenes which have drawn attention with regard to gender relations. Thus I shed light on how the play allows for such different readings. In chapter 2, I have applied this knowledge to a recent Globe production of the Taming of the Shrew, directed by Toby Frow. There I examine how this staging interprets the questions surrounding gender hierarchy that are so central to The Shrew.Show less
