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 MA thesis explores the independence of the working heroines in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847), Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), and Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding...Show moreThis MA thesis explores the independence of the working heroines in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847), Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), and Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd (1874). The heroines establish and maintain their independence by performing the profession of governess, artist, or farmer, while the love interests threaten the women's independence by encroaching upon their professions. This thesis shows that all three novels are simultaneously ahead of their time in relation to the working women and very much of their time in relation to Victorian conventions.Show less
Studies on Charlotte Brontë have focused on her personal life (Peters, 1975; Thörmahlen, 2012), her letter writing (Brontë, Smith ed., 1995–2000) and her work as an author. Her novel Jane Eyre ...Show moreStudies on Charlotte Brontë have focused on her personal life (Peters, 1975; Thörmahlen, 2012), her letter writing (Brontë, Smith ed., 1995–2000) and her work as an author. Her novel Jane Eyre (1847) was even included in a study investigating the use of the progressive during the nineteenth century (Arnaud, 1998). Although Arnaud’s study incorporated both novels and personal correspondence of contemporary authors, it excluded her letters. This thesis examines Brontë’s usage of the progressive in her letters exchanged with four members of her social network. Moreover, the investigation considers other contexts, such as formal and informal relations, as well as the gender of the recipients. Instances of the progressive were measured in terms of density, a method of normalization. This study finds evidence which supports the notion that the author’s use of the ‘be +-ing’ construction was likely to have been influenced by her second social network. Moreover, it indicates that her usage became more systematic during the final period of her life. The gender comparison shows that she used most progressive forms in letters addressed to women, than to men. Such usage of the construction correlates with female progressive usage of the nineteenth century (Arnaud, 1998, p. 131). However, the low use of the progressive in letters to men might indicate that Brontë adopted male ‘linguistic behaviour’ (Tieken-Boon van Ostade, 2009, pp. 114–115) as a result of her work as an author and her interaction with multiple social networks.Show less
This thesis discusses Victorian gender roles in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, George Eliot’s Middlemarch and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The Victorian Era had strict ideas about gender roles, which can...Show moreThis thesis discusses Victorian gender roles in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, George Eliot’s Middlemarch and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The Victorian Era had strict ideas about gender roles, which can be seen in the literature from that time. Jane Eyre is the earliest novel that is discussed and it presents a complex view of masculinity and femininity. It might seem, at first glance, that the characters are mostly conforming to the gender roles, but it becomes clear that the lines between both genders are blurred. This is also the case in Middlemarch, where meddling wives and insecure husbands destroy their own marriages and happiness. This nuanced view of both male and female characters defies the rigid gender roles of the time. Dracula, on the other hand, is focussed on femininity rather than masculinity. Manliness is still important in the novel, but the main focus is on the transformation women undergo when they are turned into vampires. The perfect woman turns into an evil seductress when she is bitten by Dracula, and her misdeeds are harshly punished. This black and white view of femininity, or gender in general, is absent in the other novels.Show less
