The present project sets out to discover what the Xingshi yinyuan zhuan ('A Tale of Marriage Destinies that will Bring Society to its Senses'), an anonymous novel of manners from seventeenth-century China, can tell us about life in the world out of which it emerged. Seventeenth-century records depict China on the verge of modernity as a world torn between the traditional agricultural society and the new challenges of urban life, commerce and a money economy. The shifts from conventional norms and values gave rise to concepts of Utopia and anti-utopia: to nostalgia for the lost paradise of the past and to apocalyptic satire on present conditions. Scholars have noted the prominence of utopianism in seventeenthcentury fiction but no detailed study has been undertaken so far. Utopianism is here explored in terms of the indigenous Chinese traditions. The text of the Xingshi yinyuan zhuan is analysed to see how it perceives and reflects the seventeenth century Chinese world. Utopia serves as an analytical construct to recreate a glimpse of society and the moral evaluation of the world through the eyes of a contemporary observer. The body of the thesis analyses three major motifs in the Xingshi yinyuan zhuan: the healers, the elite and the mother. Critical comparison with other contemporary literary and historical sources attempts to place the novel into its context. The visions of Utopia and anti-utopia provide insight into the dreams and nightmares as seventeenth-century Chinese minds may have perceived them, shedding light on the vernacular culture as opposed to the officially recognised and imperially ordained culture of China.

This project explores the use if illegitimacy within Western discourse over the last three centuries. Illegitimacy was used in Victorian literature as a literary device to drive plot but evolved into a touchstone for Western discourse to explore the bounds of what is considered respectable society. Over time, as illegitimacy has become more mainstream, I contend illegitimate identities have been utilized to serve as a mirror for Western hegemony. In the first chapter, I explore the origins of illegitimacy being used as a literary device in novels by Victorian authors Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. In the second chapter, I examine the role illegitimacy plays in the origin stories of canonical comic book superheroes Batman and Superman. Lastly, in the third chapter, I scrutinize the role illegitimacy plays in defining the human condition within science fiction as human culture continues to advance technologically towards a post human world. / by Ryan Dessler. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Marie Corelli was arguably the most popular British novelist of the early 1900s, yet few today even know her name. Though she is not the only author to lose popularity, her enormous influence during her lifetime deserves consideration. What people liked about Marie Corelli can shed light on why the rise of modernism is seen as such a break from the popular in literature. This paper examines two of her bestsellers, A Romance of Two Worlds and The Sorrows of Satan, in light of the fin de siáecle, as well as the critical response to her work from both modernist and postmodern perspectives. Corelli is of interest today because her popular female characters are women who affirm traditional femininity yet also pursue and wield great power. The question I raise is whether Corelli's work is best seen as illustrative of theories about popular literature or as contradictory to them. / by Doris Moss. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Fondée en 1863,la Vie parisienne est une revue illustrée, galante et mondaine qui connut, jusqu'aux années 1930, un très grand succès. La thèse ici présentée s'attache à en retracer l'histoire, à en étudier le discours social, notamment sur les femmes, et son implication - problématique - dans le champ littéraire.<p> / Doctorat en Langues et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Critical Theory, as posited by members of The Frankfurt School, was evaluated with the objective of attaching an implied ethical dimension. This was discovered in their privileging of a particular type of aesthetic, as evinced in their analysis of certain works of autonomous High Modernism. This implied ethic, which is one based around the concept of enlightenment as potential for emancipation, was then applied as a norm for the evaluation of art. This ethic, however, does not seek to impose a particular reading on (specifically) literary production: Rather, it seeks to impart the importance of a commitment by the literary critic in the use of an ethically based norm, an ethic, what is more, that is based and supported by a discussion of the concepts 'freedom' and Enlightenment. Finally, with this ethic firmly established, the discussion then attempted to distinguish between modernism and post-modernism, using this implied ethic as a guide to separation. / Afrikaans & Theory of Literature / M.A. (Theory of Literature)

Critical Theory, as posited by members of The Frankfurt School, was evaluated with the objective of attaching an implied ethical dimension. This was discovered in their privileging of a particular type of aesthetic, as evinced in their analysis of certain works of autonomous High Modernism. This implied ethic, which is one based around the concept of enlightenment as potential for emancipation, was then applied as a norm for the evaluation of art. This ethic, however, does not seek to impose a particular reading on (specifically) literary production: Rather, it seeks to impart the importance of a commitment by the literary critic in the use of an ethically based norm, an ethic, what is more, that is based and supported by a discussion of the concepts 'freedom' and Enlightenment. Finally, with this ethic firmly established, the discussion then attempted to distinguish between modernism and post-modernism, using this implied ethic as a guide to separation. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M.A. (Theory of Literature)

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished