Dans cette thèse, on examine les différents aspects de la réception et de la fortune des contes de la baronne d’Aulnoy à la fin du XIXe siècle, permettant d’enrichir les analyses critiques à propos des contes de fées classiques et de leur perception en époque moderne. L’étude porte, en un premier temps, sur le domaine de nouvelles éditions des contes qui voient le jour à partir de premières années du XIXe siècle, jusqu’aux premières années du XXe. La composition des volumes et la forme des textes permettent de comprendre comment c’est uniquement à la fin du XIXe siècle que Mme d’Aulnoy commence à être considérée comme une auteure classique : une écrivaine qui propose aux lecteurs des contes merveilleux originaux et non pas une simple transcriptrice de contes folkloriques. L’analyse des réécritures et des transpositions permet, en revanche, de comprendre le rôle de la baronne et de son œuvre dans le renouvellement du merveilleux de la fin du siècle, car les réécritures complètes de certains de ses contes présentent des traits stylistiques propres au genre du merveilleux perverti. Cela permet de saisir l’intérêt que les auteurs de cette époque portent sur la figure de l’écrivaine : elle est perçue comme un modèle, au même niveau que Charles Perrault, ce qui justifie la présence de réécritures complètes de son œuvre. D’un autre côté, certaines reprises de thèmes, motifs et personnages, permettent de mieux comprendre l’importance du souvenir littéraire dans le renouvellement du genre merveilleux. Les transpositions pour le théâtre sont, enfin, présentes uniquement dans la culture anglaise. Les contes de la baronne d’Aulnoy qui participent à ce phénomène permettent un profond renouvellement de certains genres du théâtre classique et la création de nouveaux, qui présentent, pour la première fois, le thème du grotesque. Ce travail permet, donc, de souligner la portée et l’importance de la production d’une écrivaine qui a été, pendant longtemps oubliée et de mettre en relief en quel sens ses contes merveilleux ont contribué à enrichir plusieurs genres et plusieurs modèles relevant de la culture de la fin du siècle. / In this thesis, the variousaspects of the reception and the fortune of the fairy tales of the baroness of d’Aulnoy at the end of the 19th century are examined, allowing enriching the critical analyses about classical fairy tales and their perception in modern time. In first place, new editions of the tales, printed from from first years of the 19thcentury, until the first years of 20th are examined. The composition of volumes and the shape of the texts make it possible to understand how it is only at the end of the 19th century that Mrs. d'Aulnoy starts to be regarded as a classical author. She begins to be considered as a writer that proposes to the readers original marvelous tales and not a simple rewriter of folk tales. The analysis of the rewritings and the transpositions allows, on the other hand, to understand the role of the baroness and her work in the renewal of marvelous literature at the end of the century. In fact, the complete rewritings of some of its tales present some stylistics features that can be connected with the perverted marvelous, typical of the end of the century. That makes it possible to seize the interest which the authors of this time carry on the figure of the writer. She begins to be perceived as a model, on the same level as Charles Perrault, which justifies the presence of complete rewritings of its work. On the other hand, the presence of some themes and characters that can originally be found in Mrs. d’Aulnoy’s works inside new works allows to better understand the importance of the literary memory in the renewal of marvelous literary genre. In the end, the transpositions for the theater can only be found in the English culture. The tales of the baroness d’Aulnoy which take part in this phenomenon allow a deep renewal of certain genres of the classical theater and the creation of new ones, presenting, for the first time, characters and topics linked to grotesque. This work allows therefore, to stress the range and the importance of the production of a writer which, has been forgotten for a long time and to highlight in which direction its tales contributed to enrich the marvelous at the end of the century.

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This thesis focuses on to word problems and elementary school pupils. Research on mathematical word problems suggests that differences in success are not only due to different levels of pupils' cognitive abilities but that their motivation plays a role, too. Therefore, in this study, I focused on the context of word problem as a potential source of situational interest, which may affect the quality of pupils' cognitive function in the short term or permanently. I used my participation in a broader quantitatively oriented research on variables influencing the difficulty of word problems and using its methodology, I investigated the influence of different types of contexts on pupils' success in solving the problems. The examined aspect of context was attractiveness - the question was whether pupils would be more successful in solving word problems with elements of fairy tale, science fiction or humour than in similar problems with the same structure but with a neutral context. Pupils of the 3rd to 6th grades of primary school (n = 2 092) were divided into two groups of a comparable ability and each was presented with one of the variants - attractive or neutral. To evaluate the results quantitatively, the Item Response Theory was used allowed us to determine the difficulty of the problem depending on...

Lonely Monsters is a full-length feature screenplay that explores the ways in which a classic damsel narrative may be reconsidered. It offers ideas on how death and girlhood may find symmetry. The characters within Lonely Monsters deal with loss, identity of the self versus the world's ideas on self-identity, place, gender, and class. Utilizing the elements of a fairy tale, the narrative seeks to complicate the roles of gender in a cautionary tale. Set in the fictional Florida town of Puerto Palmera, an economic divide between the Estates and the Glades makes for a ripe, troublesome environment for a foul modern-day aristocrat who masquerades as a grandiose and romantic prince. The story's protagonist, Fisher Franklin, loses two key relationships—as well as her sound mind—in the wake of the false prince's folly. Utilizing her experiences as a child within the lavish lives of the Estates—at the desire of a wealthy and secretive benefactor with motives of her own—Fisher creates a persona who becomes entangled in a lustful and dangerous liaison with Wyatt Sharpe, the villainous playboy. By assuming this persona, Fisher recasts herself as the damsel, the monster, and the heroine.

The period 1889-1891 has been regarded as crucial in Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) career. Having been somewhat unsuccessful as a writer during the 1880s, and turning to journalism to earn a living, Wilde in this period saw the publication of his dialogues which led to his sole novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (hereafter, Dorian), serialised in 1890 before being republished as a novel in 1891. It has been characterized as a turning point in his career, and critics have studied these works in detail, as well as those which followed, especially the four society’s comedies: Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). However, besides this selection, much of Wilde’s work remains under-researched, particularly his fairy tales, whose study suffers from the prejudicial categorisation as children’s literature. Research to date has tended to privilege a single aspect of Wilde’sfairy tales, as in Jarlath Killeen’s The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde (2007) focusing on a Victorian societal perspective, rather than studying the fairy tales as a coherent and integral part of Wilde’s lifework. The essay focuses on ‘The Fisherman and His Soul’ (hereafter, ‘Fisherman’), recognised as the most sophisticated tale from Wilde’s A House of Pomegranates (1891) (hereafter, Pomegranates). It will establish the essential role of ‘Fisherman’ in understanding Wilde’s complex aesthetic philosophy by examining the tale from two distinct levels of intertextuality. First, Wilde borrowed some of the most emblematic aesthetical and narrative elements from Andersen’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ (hereafter, ‘Mermaid’) and other similar fairy tales from the early nineteenth century for explicitly positioning ‘Fisherman’ as a response to Andersen’stale. Taking the opposite approach to Andersen’s ‘Mermaid’, Wilde’s ‘Fisherman’ stands as a social critique against the Victorian doxa, especially denouncing its nefarious effect on art. Second, through epistolary and textual evidence, the essay reveals the connections between ‘Fisherman’, Dorian, and ‘The Soul of Man’ (1891), including their genesis, design, themes, and discourse. This dual intertextuality of ‘Fisherman’ allows us to reassess Wilde’s tale as an influential text. It contributes simultaneously to comprehending better how consistent Wilde’s aesthetic standards and societal view were.

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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-131) / Text in English with summaries in English and Afrikaans / There are certain influences from the eighteenth and nineteenth century English and German romantic Zeitgeist that can be discerned in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. The role of the imagination stands out as a particularly dominant notion of the romantic period as opposed to the emphasis on reason during the Enlightenment. It is this romantic influence that Andersen’s tales especially exemplify. For him the imagination is transcendent – one can overcome the mystery and hardship of an earthly existence by recasting situations imaginatively and one can even be elevated to a higher, spiritual realm by its power. The transcendent power of the imagination is best understood by viewing it through the lens of negative capability, a concept put forward by romantic poet, John Keats. The concept implies an “imaginative openness” to what is, which allows one to tolerate life’s uncertainties and the inexplicable suffering that forms part of one’s earthly existence by using the imagination to open up new potential within trying circumstances. In selected fairy tales, Andersen’s child protagonists transcend their circumstances by the power of their imagination. In other tales, nature is instrumental in this imaginative transcendence. The natural world conveys spiritual truths and has a moralising influence on the characters, bringing them closer to the Ultimate Creator. This follows the philosophy of German Naturphilosophie, as well as that of English romantics like Coleridge and Wordsworth, for whom nature functions as a portal to the spiritual world. The concept of the “sublime” underpins this philosophy. If nature is viewed through an imaginative, instead of an empirical lens, it becomes the means by which the temporal world can be transcended. It is a message of hope and as such is in keeping with Andersen’s self professed calling as visionary who uses his art to uplift mankind. In this he is the ultimate romantic hero or outsider who, while standing on the periphery of society, observes its shortcomings and feels called upon to show the way to a better world. / Sekere invloede van agtiende- en negentiende eeuse Engelse en Duitse romantisisme kan in Hans Christian Andersen se feëverhale bespeur word. Veral die rol van die verbeelding staan uit as ‘n dominante invloed van romantisisme, in teenstelling met die laat sewentien- en vroeë agtiende eeuse fokus op rasionaliteit. Dit is hierdie romantiese invloed wat Andersen se verhale veral versinnebeeld. Vir hom is die verbeelding transendentaal – ‘n mens kan die misterie en swaarkry van jou aardse bestaan oorkom deur situasies deur die oog van die verbeelding te bejeën en kan selfs deur die mag van die verbeelding opgehef word na ‘n hoër, meer spirituele vlak. Die transendentale mag van die verbeelding kan beter begryp word wanneer dit deur die lens van “negative capability” gesien word. Hierdie konsep is deur die romantiese digter, John Keats, voorgestel. Die konsep impliseer ‘n verbeeldingryke openheid in die aangesig van aardse onsekerheid en swaarkry, wat die mens uiteindelik in staat stel om nuwe potensiaal in moeilike omstandighede raak te sien. In uitgekose feëverhale, oorkom Andersen se kinderprotagoniste hul moeilike omstandighede deur die mag van die verbeelding. In ander verhale is die natuur deurslaggewend in dié transendentale verbeeldingsreis. Nie net dra die natuur geestelike waarhede oor nie, maar dit het ook ‘n moraliserende invloed op die karakters, wat hulle nader aan ‘n Opperwese bring. Dit herinner aan die Duitse Naturphilosophie, asook die sienswyse van Engelse romantikusse soos Coleridge en Wordsworth, vir wie die natuur ‘n deurgangsroete na die geestelike wêreld is. Die idee van die “sublime” is onderliggend aan hierdie filosofie. As die natuur deur middel van die verbeeldingslens, in plaas van deur ‘n empiriese lens bejeën word, kan dit ‘n manier word om die aardse te oorkom. Dit is dus ‘n boodskap van hoop wat in lyn is met Andersen se selfopgelegde taak as profeet wat sy kuns gebruik om die mensdom op te hef. In hierdie opsig is hy die absolute romantiese held of buitestaander, wat, ofskoon hy aan die buitewyke van die samelewing staan, tóg tekortkominge raaksien en geroepe voel om die weg na ‘n beter wêreld te wys. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

Text in Afrikaans / In die verhandeling word die vergestalting van die sprokiemotief in die tekste, Griet skryf 'n sprokie deur Marita van der Vyver (1992) en Weerkaatsings - 'n sprokie deur Eleanor Baker (1984) nagegaan. Die doel is om vas te stel op watter wyse hierdie "kindgerigte" genre op die literere vlak van die volwasse leser omvorm word. Om hierdie doel te bereik word eerstens 'n begripsverkenning van die sprokie as epiese genre gedoen. In die verkenning van die genre val die soeklig nie net op die Westerse sprokie nie, maar daar word ook gefokus op die inheemse SuidAfrikaanse sprokie. Tweedens word aan die hand van hierdie teoretiese raamwerk 'n noukeurige analise gemaak van die vergestalting van die sprokiemotief binne die twee primere tekste. Die sprokieselemente in Griet skryf 'n sprokie en Weerkaatsings - 'n sprokie word uitgelig en die hantering daarvan vergelykend ondersoek / In the dissertation the manifestation of the fairytale motif in the texts, Griet skryf 'n sprokie by Marita van der Vyver (1992), and Weerkaatsings 'n sprokie by Eleanor Baker (1984) is investigated. The purpose is to ascertain the manner in which this "child-centred" genre is transformed on the literary level of the adult reader. To achieve this goal, a conceptualization of the fairytale as an epic genre is firstly undertaken. In the exploration of the genre, the search light does not only focus on the Western but also on the indigenous South African fairytale. Secondly, by means of this theoretical framework, a detailed analysis is made of the manifestation of the fairytale motif in the two primary texts. The elements of the fairytale in Griet skryf 'n sprokie and Weerkaatsings - 'n sprokie are highlighted and the handling thereof comparatively investigated / Afrikaans & Theory of Literature / M.A. (Afrikaans)

Text in English / This study aims to apply the biopolitical theories of Giorgio Agamben on homo sacer to the stereotypical representation of the violent woman. Using feminist methodologies for dismantling and exposing social stereotypes, this research explores the relationship between femininity, violence and the representation of these. By focussing on the influence of traditional narratives as found in ancient mythology and fairy tales, the study investigates the contemporary portrayal of the stereotypical violent woman using acts of dismemberment and dispossession in the work of Quentin Tarantino and Nathalie Djurberg, which serve as examples of the controversial relationship between real and filmic violence. / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / M.A. (Art History)