Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1996. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-232).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Germanic Studies, December 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Alsoo available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, November, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-180)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, November, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-180)

A literary text is a means for critics to analyze societal influence on the author, and both fashion and body modification serve this same function because they are legible texts with which to interpret the psychological motivations of the wearer in the cultural context in which he or she lives. Fashion theorists such as Roland Barthes and J.C. Flugel have detailed the reasons that they believe dress evolves throughout time, and the following thesis applies their theories to Melville's first novel Typee. In the first chapter, entitled, "Moral Fibers: Dress as the Extension of Self," much emphasis is given to archetypes of dress such as the veil, the corset and military uniforms in the Orient and the Occident. The second chapter, "Cut From the Same Cloth: Body Modification as Semiotic Modality," discusses ritualistic tattooing as a mode of literary expression. / by Tealia DeBerry. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

My aim with this study has been to examine how the fashion is a leading component in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. I have studied the role fashion plays in the novel and in which way it can be seen as a way of letting the reader know the important role of fashion in 19tcentury England and the morals of Oscar Wilde. To prove my thesis I have used literature that shows how Oscar Wilde uses influences from his own life in his writing of The Picture of Dorian Gray. I have also used Judith Butler's theory of performativity in analyzing the characters in ordet to display their way of staging themselves and their lifestyles and their dependence of that performativity in their interactions. Even though the theory of performativity often is used to hold the importance of the sexes, I have concluded that it has an important role in the novel when Dorian Gray interacts with the character Sibyl Vane who is an actress. My results have shown that fashion in the novel is often a way of letting the reader know important elements of a character in the way that certain fabrics and items are mentioned when Wilde writes about his characters. I have also found that fashion is an important factor when the characters judge each when they speak about the way they dress. The way fashion is presented in the novel is important to my thesis and has shown me how fashion can be used in literature as symbolic elements guiding the narrative. Keywords: Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Fashion in literature, Performativity. Judith Butler

Women authors in mid to late nineteenth century American society were unafraid to shed the old domestic ideology and set new examples for women outside of racial and gender spheres. This essay focuses on the ways in which Elizabeth Stoddard's The Morgesons, Louisa May Alcott's Behind a Mask, and Elizabeth Keckley's Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House represent the function of fashion and attire in literature. Each author encourages readers to examine dress in a way that defies the typical domestic ideology of nineteenth century America. I want my readers to understand the role of fashion in literature as I progress through each work and ultimately show how each female author and protagonist set a new example for womanhood through their fashion choices.