This essay will focus on the ways in which the house, and indeed the right to own property, shaped female experience in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1843), The Spoils of Poynton (1897) and Howard’s...Show moreThis essay will focus on the ways in which the house, and indeed the right to own property, shaped female experience in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1843), The Spoils of Poynton (1897) and Howard’s End (1910). The relationship between houses and female power will be explored through three chapters. The first will focus on The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and will examine the relevance of the house as a physical space within women’s lives. The second will look at The Spoils of Poynton in the context of female homelessness, shedding light on the importance of the female home in wielding power, as women without property are left disenfranchised throughout, as well as the precarious nature of female inhabitance of the home. The third and final chapter will examine Howard’s End in light of this. Women, able to take full ownership of the home, are able to exert control over their environment and exercise a relatively high degree of independence. Howard’s End, then, I will examine in terms of legal female ownership of the house and female inheritance. This essay will examine the role of the house in female agency within the novel, and how these novels emerge from, and form part of, the shifting political, social and legal context of the 19th Century.Show less
In this thesis, I am going to interrogate what might be meant by ‘feminism’ in the 1810s, what Austen might have understood by it, what we now understand by it and how we might apply those ideas to...Show moreIn this thesis, I am going to interrogate what might be meant by ‘feminism’ in the 1810s, what Austen might have understood by it, what we now understand by it and how we might apply those ideas to Austen’s fictions. I shall argue that, although Austen uses the rather conservative genre of the courtship novel, or according to Marilyn Butler, the conservative partisan novel, she employs this genre to subversively express her radical ideas (Butler 3). I shall explore the idea that Austen rarely made her views explicit in her work, due to the prejudice that was attached to feminist opinions at the time due to the life story of Mary Wollstonecraft; I shall trace the effect of Wollstonecraft’s biography on Austen in the next chapter. By investigating different aspects of the family in Austen’s novels, I shall demonstrate how Austen did express her ‘feminist’ opinions through her works, albeit subversively. In particular, I shall examine the weakness of authority figures in her novels. The weakness of these authority figures allows Austen’s heroines to exert more power and therefore have a greater sense of their own agency. I shall further argue that Austen employs the weakness of authority figures in her novels to inspire more feminist behaviour in her heroines, who are not the ‘perfect’ image of Georgian femininity but are nevertheless, as is clear to the reader, favoured over the other characters by Austen. I attempt to show that Austen’s ‘feminist’ tendencies can be seen in her praising her heroines beyond all other characters while these are the characters that display the most agency and therefore are seen to possess ‘masculine’ properties.Show less
Research into the representation of the main character Sara in each Western film adaptation created in the twentieth century. The thesis focuses on gender stereotypes and the representation of the...Show moreResearch into the representation of the main character Sara in each Western film adaptation created in the twentieth century. The thesis focuses on gender stereotypes and the representation of the significance of friendship, imagination and intelligence.Show less
In Elizabeth Bowen’s The Demon Lover and Other Stories (1944), Rosamond Lehmann’s The Ballad and the Source (1944), and Rose Macaulay’s The World My Wilderness (1950), the actual present strikes...Show moreIn Elizabeth Bowen’s The Demon Lover and Other Stories (1944), Rosamond Lehmann’s The Ballad and the Source (1944), and Rose Macaulay’s The World My Wilderness (1950), the actual present strikes characters as unreal, since history is overturned, partly by the proximity of war: past, present and future are mingled. These prose texts are placed in relation to T.S. Eliot’s poetic commentary on our ambivalent attitude to time, Four Quartets (1943), which can similarly be seen as a response to the writer’s experience of the Blitz. The texts this thesis engages with explore the idea of simultaneity, a multiplied presence – but they also bespeak a disbelief in an independent present, one untainted by the past and future. Indeed, in these texts, the “anaesthetized and bewildered present” (The Demon Lover and Other Stories, Bowen 221) is obscured both by compressions and expansions of time, often in combination with a collapse of identity. Brimming with both nostalgia and painful memories, but also due to the looming presence of war, the texts are all in some way ‘haunted’, both metaphorically as well as literally. Ultimately, this thesis will argue that under the pressure of the war and its aftermath, 1940s Modernist texts question the linearity of time and experience.Show less
Taking Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), Samir Calixto in his dance-theatre play of the same title offers a new interpretation of an old order. In his work, God is a vain tyrant, Satan a...Show moreTaking Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), Samir Calixto in his dance-theatre play of the same title offers a new interpretation of an old order. In his work, God is a vain tyrant, Satan a tragic hero, Adam a weak marionette, and Eve a brave leader who, with determination and hope, guides Adam out of the Paradise towards enlightenment and a new beautiful world. This thesis aims to examine the difference in portrayal of gender roles in the two works. The main research question seeks to explore performance of gender roles in the background of gender studies and literary criticism on Milton. The sub-questions investigate how literature influences dance and what is the relationship between the two art forms; how the physicality of dance and lack of dramatic text affect possible interpretations; and whether Eve can be seen as the embodiment of the masculine. The emergence of modern dance, particularly understood as a form not based on narrative, is described along with the notion of intermediality and postdramatic theatre. A conceptual base regarding gender theory and adaptation studies is set out with examples from Milton's poem before an in-depth analysis of Calixto's performance.Show less
Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
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Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is mainly known for his Victorian novels. However, Dickens pursued a lifelong relationship with the theatrical world. This thesis aims at exploring this relationship,...Show moreCharles Dickens (1812-1870) is mainly known for his Victorian novels. However, Dickens pursued a lifelong relationship with the theatrical world. This thesis aims at exploring this relationship, taking into account two theatrical adaptations of Dickens’ novel "Bleak House" in 1853: James Elphinstone and Frederic Neale’s "‘Bleak House’, a drama in two acts", performed at the City of London Theatre in June 1853, and George Dibdin Pitt’s "The Bleak House, or the Spectre of the Ghost Walk", performed at the Royal Pavilion Theatre, also in June 1853, before the final instalments of the novel had been published. The main focus of this analysis is the investigation of Gothic motifs present in Dickens’ novel, and how they were represented in these two productions. The conclusion is that these Gothic elements were enhanced on stage by means of textual selections, set arrangements and plot focused on the Dedlocks’ Ghost legend, illustrating the sensationalist character of the nineteenth-century melodramatic theatre. Furthermore, the focus on spectacle also resulted in an impoverishment of the social criticism layer present in Dickens’ novel, demonstrating the productions’ focus on entertainment, in accordance with the theatres’ purposes and target audience in the East End area in London in the nineteenth century.Show less
This thesis explores the ways in which the animals in Poe’s ‘The Black Cat’, du Maurier’s ‘The Birds’, Benchley’s Jaws, and King’s Cujo act as if driven by a vengeful motive. This supposed vengeful...Show moreThis thesis explores the ways in which the animals in Poe’s ‘The Black Cat’, du Maurier’s ‘The Birds’, Benchley’s Jaws, and King’s Cujo act as if driven by a vengeful motive. This supposed vengeful motive is an aspect that allows the animals to act as agents of guilt. Part of the guilt finds its origin in the history that humans and animals share, and in this thesis, specifically in the Western societies. In this shared history animals were more often than not treated horribly. However, in recent years, humans have come to think of animals quite differently than they used to. Animals and humans differ most significantly in the aspect of consciousness: where animals are merely conscious, humans are self-conscious. In horror literature the most important aspect is the monster, and a monster is almost exclusively an animal that has acquired self-consciousness. The animals in the four discussed horror narratives are all seemingly in possession of a self-conscious mind, making them horrific monsters. But, besides being a scary monster that threatens the lives of its antagonists, the acquirement of self-consciousness gives the monster a purpose, it becomes an agent of guilt. In this function the animals can confront the characters in the story with repressed feelings originating from guilt, and, more significantly, through these animals a critical view on human society is offered.Show less
This thesis employs queer and psychoanalytic theory in order to analyze three Gothic texts from the Romantic Period: William Godwin's 'Caleb Williams' (1794), Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' (1818),...Show moreThis thesis employs queer and psychoanalytic theory in order to analyze three Gothic texts from the Romantic Period: William Godwin's 'Caleb Williams' (1794), Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' (1818), and James Hogg's 'Justified Sinner' (1824). Through close readings, this thesis argues that the male protagonist's 'double' is a manifestation of his repressed homosexual desires. Do to societal pressure for normative behaviour, the protagonist experiences opposing feelings of desire and homophobia, ultimately causing his isolation and self-hatred.Show less
Disney has been releasing Disney Princess films since 1937. They started out with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and just now, a thirteenth film has been added to the list: Moana. A distinct...Show moreDisney has been releasing Disney Princess films since 1937. They started out with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and just now, a thirteenth film has been added to the list: Moana. A distinct change in character is noticeable when looking at the princesses. The princesses from the first generation (1937-1959) have passive characters, they are submissive, enjoy domestic chores and play no active role in their own tales. They simply wait to be swept off their feet by a prince. In fact, they represented what people considered to be the perfect woman in those days. However, nowadays, that is not what we consider the perfect woman to be. The second generation princesses (1989-1998) introduced a change. They were rebellious, took agency and instead of falling for any man, they wanted the right one. However, these films still focus on finding love, as if that is all that a woman's life should be about. The most recent princesses (from 2010 onwards) are increasingly more independent and active. They do not rely on men to save them, take matters into their own hands and determine their own fate. They are progressive princesses and continue to increasingly become more proactive and independent. These new princesses provide the twenty-first-century audience with role models they can actually learn from. Disney is not there yet, but they are slowly but surely letting go of the Disney formula.Show less
This thesis will analyse the continuing significance of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in contemporary media, through an analysis of the attempts made to modernize the novel. It will do so, by...Show moreThis thesis will analyse the continuing significance of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in contemporary media, through an analysis of the attempts made to modernize the novel. It will do so, by providing an in-depth analysis of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which makes use of multiple modern media platforms to update the plot of Austen’s novel and make it more plausible and recognizable in modern society, and conducting a comparison with another adaptation, namely Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice (2004). In doing so, I shall argue that miscommunication is the main theme in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and that this theme continues to be relevant and echoes through both adaptations regardless of their time, culture, or social settings.Show less
In the following chapters, I shall compose a theoretical framework of both children’s literature and female gender studies and use this for an analysis of the presentation of female gender in Roald...Show moreIn the following chapters, I shall compose a theoretical framework of both children’s literature and female gender studies and use this for an analysis of the presentation of female gender in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (chapter 2), The Witches (chapter 3) and Matilda (chapter 4). Following Culley’s analysis, Dahl’s at times grotesque and even sadistic narratives appear to uncover ideological hypocrisies like sexism or stereotyped gender roles, hereby drawing attention towards gender issues. However, the satirical presentation of these ideological stereotypes may present Dahl’s work as mainly humorous or entertaining, in this way overshadowing the actuality of repressing gender stereotyping as projected in the text.Show less
