Feminism movements have questioned the notion of coherent identities in contemporary western societies. In particular, they hold that to consider a woman as a coherent and stable subject is contrary to feminist beliefs, as this refuses the multiplicity of cultural, social and political intersections within which this allegedly concrete array of women is constructed. According to Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler, individual identities are both socially and politically constructed. With this in mind, the objective of this thesis is to analyze Irish gender relations as represented in Anne Enrights contemporary work. In analyzing Enrights literary characters as representations of contemporary women, primarily with regard to motherhood, certain historical and cultural aspects specific to Ireland must be considered in order to understand how womens identities have been shaped by the political, religious, and social establishments in place from the turn of the century up to contemporary Irish society. This thesis argues that, in her literature, Enright defines her characters both tangentially and paradoxically thereby provoking a rupture in the established image of woman. Thus, she draws attention to the shift from the inner self to the external world in an aesthetic attempt to construct her own authentic space. This involves an aesthetic process in which the author uses narrative strategies to guide the reader on a circular-upward progression towards social self-awareness. The objective of Enrights literary texts is to guide the individual in a spiraling movement of thoughts which leads him or her to perceive a self-reflection in the narrative. Then, carried by the spiraling narrative, the outer social context of the narrative becomes involved with its inside world, promoting an elevation of the reader towards a self-awareness of his or her materiality immersed in human relations. / Os movimentos feministas têm questionado a postulação do conceito de identidades coerentes nas sociedades ocidentais contemporâneas pois, de acordo com tal ideia, considerar as mulheres como um sujeito coerente e estável significa ser contrário às crenças feministas, recusando a multiplicidade de interseções culturais, sociais e políticas nas quais o conjunto concreto de mulheres é construído. Segundo Luce Irigaray e Judith Butler, as identidades individuais são construídas social e politicamente. Tendo isso em mente, o objetivo desta tese é analisar as relações de gênero como representadas no trabalho da escritora contemporânea Anne Enright. Ao analisar as personagens literários de Enright como uma representação das mulheres atuais, principalmente no que diz respeito à maternidade, os aspectos históricos e culturais específicos da Irlanda devem ser considerados para entender como a identidade das mulheres foi moldada com base em um estabelecimento ideológico político, religioso e social desde a virada do século até os dias atuais. A hipótese é que, em sua literatura, Enright define seus personagens tangencialmente e paradoxalmente provocando uma ruptura na imagem das mulheres socialmente estabelecida. Assim, ela ilumina o movimento do eu interior para o mundo exterior em uma tentativa estética de construir seu próprio espaço. Isso significa um processo no qual a autora usa estratégias narrativas para orientar o leitor em uma tentativa ascendente para a autoconsciência social. O objetivo dos textos literários de Enright é o de guiar o indivíduo pelo movimento espiralado dos seus pensamentos e, em primeiro lugar, obter uma auto-reflexão através da narrativa que impulsiona o interior dos personagens para o exterior. Então, abrangido pela espiral, o contexto social envolve o mundo interior da narrativa, promovendo uma elevação do leitor para uma autoconsciência de sua materialidade imersa nas relações humanas.

Feminism movements have questioned the notion of coherent identities in contemporary western societies. In particular, they hold that to consider a woman as a coherent and stable subject is contrary to feminist beliefs, as this refuses the multiplicity of cultural, social and political intersections within which this allegedly concrete array of women is constructed. According to Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler, individual identities are both socially and politically constructed. With this in mind, the objective of this thesis is to analyze Irish gender relations as represented in Anne Enrights contemporary work. In analyzing Enrights literary characters as representations of contemporary women, primarily with regard to motherhood, certain historical and cultural aspects specific to Ireland must be considered in order to understand how womens identities have been shaped by the political, religious, and social establishments in place from the turn of the century up to contemporary Irish society. This thesis argues that, in her literature, Enright defines her characters both tangentially and paradoxically thereby provoking a rupture in the established image of woman. Thus, she draws attention to the shift from the inner self to the external world in an aesthetic attempt to construct her own authentic space. This involves an aesthetic process in which the author uses narrative strategies to guide the reader on a circular-upward progression towards social self-awareness. The objective of Enrights literary texts is to guide the individual in a spiraling movement of thoughts which leads him or her to perceive a self-reflection in the narrative. Then, carried by the spiraling narrative, the outer social context of the narrative becomes involved with its inside world, promoting an elevation of the reader towards a self-awareness of his or her materiality immersed in human relations. / Os movimentos feministas têm questionado a postulação do conceito de identidades coerentes nas sociedades ocidentais contemporâneas pois, de acordo com tal ideia, considerar as mulheres como um sujeito coerente e estável significa ser contrário às crenças feministas, recusando a multiplicidade de interseções culturais, sociais e políticas nas quais o conjunto concreto de mulheres é construído. Segundo Luce Irigaray e Judith Butler, as identidades individuais são construídas social e politicamente. Tendo isso em mente, o objetivo desta tese é analisar as relações de gênero como representadas no trabalho da escritora contemporânea Anne Enright. Ao analisar as personagens literários de Enright como uma representação das mulheres atuais, principalmente no que diz respeito à maternidade, os aspectos históricos e culturais específicos da Irlanda devem ser considerados para entender como a identidade das mulheres foi moldada com base em um estabelecimento ideológico político, religioso e social desde a virada do século até os dias atuais. A hipótese é que, em sua literatura, Enright define seus personagens tangencialmente e paradoxalmente provocando uma ruptura na imagem das mulheres socialmente estabelecida. Assim, ela ilumina o movimento do eu interior para o mundo exterior em uma tentativa estética de construir seu próprio espaço. Isso significa um processo no qual a autora usa estratégias narrativas para orientar o leitor em uma tentativa ascendente para a autoconsciência social. O objetivo dos textos literários de Enright é o de guiar o indivíduo pelo movimento espiralado dos seus pensamentos e, em primeiro lugar, obter uma auto-reflexão através da narrativa que impulsiona o interior dos personagens para o exterior. Então, abrangido pela espiral, o contexto social envolve o mundo interior da narrativa, promovendo uma elevação do leitor para uma autoconsciência de sua materialidade imersa nas relações humanas.

Novel: You & I. 'You & I' is a coming-of-age tale tied up in the themes of trauma, memory and storytelling. It follows sixteen-year-old Esther, who is sent to live on the fictional Cornish island of Little Wimbish following the disappearance of her bipolar mother. Once on the island where her mother grew up, the damaged and reclusive Esther finds herself caught up in the lives, history and folklore of the Wimbish community - not to mention the mystery of her father's identity. As the story progresses and Esther becomes more invested in the fairy tale escapes promised by the island she now calls home, the voice switches back and forth between the second and first person - and we begin to suspect that our narrator may have inherited her mother's illness. This is a novel concerned with how we tell stories - about ourselves, our histories, and the places we live - and why. Essay: The Stories We Tell Ourselves: Turning Trauma into Narrative in Anne Enright's The Gathering, Niall Williams' History of the Rain, and John Banville's The Sea. How do we recover from trauma, and what role can storytelling play in the recovery process? This essay investigates the notion that in Anne Enright's The Gathering, Niall Williams' History of the Rain and John Banville's The Sea, each narrator carries out an attempt at recovery, enacted through a written recollection of their past traumas. Taking inspiration from various trauma theorists and psychologists, along with writer and trauma survivor Edward St Aubyn, this essay lays out the necessary steps which must be taken in order to integrate trauma into one's life story. By writing down their trauma, constructing a narrative which allows for a certain amount of invention, facing up to the dirtier and more difficult aspects of their experiences, and finally, sharing the finished narrative with another person, the trauma survivor may facilitate the beginnings of a recovery.