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Issued also as Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University. / "350 copies of this first edition have been printed from type, of which 300 are for sale." This copy not numbered.

Issued also as Thesis (Ph. D.) Columbia University. / "350 copies of this first edition have been printed from type, of which 300 are for sale." This copy not numbered.

Diss.--Konstanz--Universität Konstanz, 1990. / Bibliogr. p. 208-222.

The suggestions with which this thesis will be concerned are those that apply not so much to mankind as a whole as those pertaining to womankind. Defore surprisingly had much to say about women and their problems; it is surprising especially when we consider that hardly anyone other than the women themselves bothered to pay any attention to these afflictions.

Abstract This thesis attempts to examine the function of disguise used in Defoe¡¦s Moll Flanders. I will relate Terry Castle¡¦s studies on masquerade and disguise as an inspiration for my discussion so as to explore disguise in the novel on three levels. Clothes as well as language as a manipulable sign system manifested in masquerade become a useful means for Moll¡¦s physical disguise. The often-debated problem of Moll¡¦s penitence is brought out and explored in terms of spiritual disguise. The Editor¡¦s Preface that prescribes an authorized interpretation of Moll¡¦s story is considered a meta-narrative disguise that intends to mask Moll¡¦s criminal autobiography as a moral tale. Therefore, the novel as a whole can be seen as an arena for competition between Moll¡¦s disguise and the Editor¡¦s meta-narrative disguise. For this reader, Moll¡¦s disguise eventually hijacks Defoe¡¦s novel and defeats the meta-narrative disguise. The thesis is composed of four chapters. The introduction presents the overall structure in a nutshell. Chapter One explains how disguise functions in masquerade and its relation to play and transgression. In Chapter Two, to enrich the discussion, Goffman¡¦s idea on ¡§impression management¡¨ is employed to explore Moll¡¦s physical disguise in everyday life. In Chapter Three, the insincerity of Moll¡¦s repentance is brought out and discussed as Moll¡¦s spiritual disguise. In Chapter Four, the Editor¡¦s Preface, which seems an appendage to the novel is seriously examined and regarded as a meta-narrative disguise for it involves a dispute of how a reader should read the novel.

Abstract Roxana is Defoe¡¦s last novel and his only one that ends in tragedy. In the eighteenth century when the idea of realism prevailed, the novel was a reflection of social reality. Unlike a romance in which love and imaginary adventures are depicted, a novel depicts ordinary people and their ordinary life. Based on this idea of realism, Defoe¡¦s Roxana touches its readers. This novel is mainly about how the heroine Roxana, a deserted woman, struggles to make money and how her mental state changes. Yet reading through the story, what readers learn is not only Roxana¡¦s tragedy in fighting through her life, but also, beyond that, the relationship between a woman and the society she lives in. Under the control of patriarchy, a woman, whether reliant on a man or independent, is doomed to be a loser. In order to give as full as possible a perspective about the process of Roxana¡¦s making money, I put many issues in the thesis, including gender, capital, marriage, morality and psychology. This thesis falls into six parts. The introduction gives a general idea of the rise of the novel in the eighteenth century and of Defoe¡¦s life. The first chapter deals with Roxana¡¦s marriage, exploring the reasons for her refusal of marriage and the possible results she may have to face if she remains unmarried. In the second chapter, I will discuss Roxana¡¦s business of prostitution, focusing on how she succeeds in making money by her body and beauty. In Chapter Three, I attempt to analyze the two Roxanas¡Xthe public Roxana and the private Roxana¡Xto see how she takes advantage of disguise in presenting a public self but still possesses a guilty feeling when she is alone. Here, I would like to apply Bakhtin¡¦s two terms ¡§centrifugal¡¨ and ¡§centripetal¡¨ to Roxana¡¦s public self and private self respectively. In the last chapter, I intend to use Freud¡¦s psycho-analysis to explain the three characters¡XRoxana, Amy and Susan¡Xand conclude with the unbalanced mental state that brings about Roxana¡¦s psychological chaos.

Inaug.-diss.--Zürich. / "Litteratur": p. [57]-58.

No description available.

Marburg, Phil. Diss. v. 21 Okt. 1912, Ref. Elster.