Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Poitiers, 2004. / "Université de Poitiers, Faculté des Lettres et des Langues, Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale." Includes bibliographical references (p. 233-257) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1941. / "Select bibliography": p. xiii-xix.

Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Poitiers, 2004. / "Université de Poitiers, Faculté des Lettres et des Langues, Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale." Includes bibliographical references (p. 233-257) and index.

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala universitet, 1991. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Abstract and summary in English. Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-258) and index.

O presente estudo é dedicado à interpretação da prosa de Lúcio Cardoso (1912-1968) e está norteado pela personagem feminina, devido à sua constante presença e importância nos livros do autor. Parte-se aqui da ideia de que a figura da mulher constitui a base de seu fazer artístico, como se ela fosse, a um só tempo, o enigma e a resposta. Ao menos três aspectos contribuem para esse efeito: a proliferação de personagens femininas nos títulos, a centralidade do feminino em paralelismo com a opção por uma prosa de tensão interiorizada e a feminilidade atuando no arranjo dos acontecimentos. Lúcio Cardoso elabora seus textos no bojo da insatisfação das personagens femininas, gerando transgressão; no fato de as mulheres exercerem o mal, visando à destruição do status quo; e na multiplicidade, vinculada à própria indefinição do feminino e responsável por uma ficção plena de ambiguidades e enganos. A seleção do corpus se fez com o intento de eleger um livro representativo de cada década (1930, 1940 e 1950) da produção de Lúcio. São obras que, simultaneamente, abarcam temas recorrentes e condensam o período abordado. Desse modo, Mãos vazias (1938), Inácio (1944) e Crônica da casa assassinada (1959) ocupam o primeiro plano, com análise textual aprofundada, e os outros títulos atuam na busca de constantes diálogos que os aproximem. As leituras foram sustentadas pela intersecção com a psicanálise e a história, tendo sempre em vista o benefício da interpretação do texto literário. / The present study is dedicated to the interpretation of Lúcio Cardosos prose (1912 -1968) and it is guided by the feminine character, due to its constant presence and importance in the authors works. The thesis starts with the main idea that the figure of the woman constitutes the expressive part of his artistic production. It is, at the same time, the question and the answer to understand Cardosos novels. At least three aspects contribute to this effect: the expressive number of feminine characters in the titles, the central place of the feminine, in parallelism with the option for the interiorized tension in the prose, and the femininitys influence in the course of the narratives. Lúcio Cardoso elaborates his texts on the dissatisfaction of the feminine characters, generating transgression; on womens evil behavior, aiming to the destruction of the status quo; and on multiplicity, linked with the non-definition of the feminine, creating a fiction full of ambiguity and misconceptions. The corpus was selected aiming to include a representative book of each decade (1930, 1940, and 1950) of Lúcios production. They are novels that, simultaneously, deal with recurrent themes and condense the period of time analyzed in the study. In this way, Mãos vazias (1938), Inácio (1944), and Crônica da casa assassinada (1959) constitute the first plan, with an in-depth textual analysis, and the other titles aim to develop intensive dialogues to approach them. The readings had been supported by the intersection with the psychoanalysis and history, always aiming to improve the interpretation of the literary text.

in English The aim of this thesis is to interpret and categorize the lesser known novel Thaddeus of Warsaw by the Scottish author Jane Porter. The novel is characterised by the use of several genre conventions - most importantly those commonly found in the conservative anti-jacobin novel or national tale, historical novel and novel of sensibility. Porter's novel is interpreted from all three perspectives and also compared to other relevant novels from roughly the same period: Self- Control by Mary Brunton, The Old English Baron by Clary Reeve and The Wild Irish Girl by Lady Morgan. The comparison aims at the contextualization of Thaddeus of Warsaw and the observation of similarities and differences in the approach to certain themes or motives. The most important motives is that of a trial that shows the character of the protagonist in action, continuity, universality and even a certain parabolic nature of history, an emphasis on virtue and the use of sentimental conventions to portray the emotions of characters. This analysis is preceded by an interpretation of two authorial prefaces. The new one (from 1831) claims that the work it comments on is a historical novel published even before Sir Walter Scott's Waverley, usually considered the first historical novel. The older preface published alongside...

Les littératures migrantes féminines canadienne et allemande contemporaine sont ancrées sur des questionnements de l’espace. Les auteures comme Abla Farhoud (Le bonheur a la queue glissante), Marie-Célie Agnant (La dot de Sara) et Renan Demirkan (Schwarzer Tee mit drei Stück Zucker) arrivent à transmettre les problèmes et questionnements liés à la condition migrante féminine de nos jours, à travers leur utilisation particulière de l’espace dans leurs romans. La métaphore de la prison aide à saisir la complexité de la situation de la femme et de son rapport avec l’espace. Il faut prendre en considération des facteurs comme le déracinement de la femme de la terre natale, sa domination par l’homme et son impuissance face aux événements liés à la migration, ainsi que son emprisonnement par autrui quand la femme est marquée par les préjugés et le racisme de la société d’accueil. La prison de la femme se manifeste également à un autre niveau, soit celui des théories spatiales : les théories spatiales masculines courantes (notamment celles de Bachelard, Merleau-Ponty, Lefebvre, De Certeau et Augé) négligent la situation particulière de la femme. Bien qu’elles aident à exposer ce que les espaces dans les romans nous communiquent et comment il faut lire les espaces, elles sont insuffisantes pour révéler le rapport femme migrante – espace dans toute sa complexité. De plus, la réalité spatiale de la femme telle qu’exposée par les théories féministes (notamment celles de Shands, Rose, Chapman et Massey) saisit seulement en partie le rapport spatial complexe de la femme migrante. La faiblesse des théories mentionnées ci-haut vient du fait qu’elles sont parfois trop simples. Elles ne tiennent pas compte de l’histoire de la femme migrante : due à son histoire particulière, sa conception des termes territoire, chez-soi et identité est tout à fait différente de celle des individus qui n’ont pas fait l’expérience d’un déracinement. En exposant les problèmes particuliers de ces femmes, cette thèse aide à sortir les femmes du silence qui les opprime. Par cette thèse, nous répondons donc à un besoin qui existe dans le champ d’étude : nous plaçons la femme migrante au centre de la réflexion théorique en insistant sur la complémentarité des théories masculines et féminines/féministes et sur la nécessité de combiner plusieurs points de vues théoriques. Par cette thèse, à l’aide de notre analyse des espaces dans les romans, nous précisons la situation nuancée de la femme migrante et apportons des perspectives éclairantes au sujet de son rapport complexe à l’espace. / Contemporary Canadian and German female migration literature is closely linked to questions of space. Authors such as Abla Farhoud (Le bonheur a la queue glissante), Marie-Célie Agnant (La dot de Sara) and Renan Demirkan (Schwarzer Tee mit drei Stück Zucker) communicate problems and questions linked to today’s female migrant condition through their particular use of space in their novels. The prison metaphor helps to reveal the complex situation of the female migrant and her relationship with space: we have to take into consideration elements such as the uprooting from her birth country, her domination by men and her powerlessness regarding the events linked to migration, as well as her confinement by others. For example, these women are often subject to prejudices and racism on the part of the new country’s society. The woman’s prison becomes also obvious when it comes to theories of space: the current male theories of space (especially those by Bachelard, Merleau-Ponty, Lefebvre, De Certeau and Augé) are ignoring the woman’s particular situation. Even though they help to expose what the spaces in the novels are telling us and how we must interpret the spaces, they are unable to reveal the migrant woman’s relationship to space in all its complexity. Also, the spatial reality of women exposed by feminist theories (especially those by Shand, Rose, Chapman and Massay) can only partially understand the complex spatial relationship of migrant women. The weak points of the theories we mentioned here come mostly from the fact that they are too simple: they don’t include the history of the female migrant in their reflections. Due to the female migrant’s particular history, her conception of terms such as territory, home and identity are very different than those of individuals who have not been exposed to the experience of being uprooted. By exposing the particular problems faced by female migrants, this thesis helps break the silence that oppresses them. Therefore, through this thesis, we are filling a gap that exists in the field of research: we are placing the migrant woman in the center of the theoretical reflections, by exposing the complementarity of male and female/feminist theories and the necessity of combining different theoretical points of view. Through this thesis and our analysis of the spaces in the novels, we are giving a precise idea of the woman’s nuanced situation and are offering a clarifying perspective on her complex relationship to space.

Les littératures migrantes féminines canadienne et allemande contemporaine sont ancrées sur des questionnements de l’espace. Les auteures comme Abla Farhoud (Le bonheur a la queue glissante), Marie-Célie Agnant (La dot de Sara) et Renan Demirkan (Schwarzer Tee mit drei Stück Zucker) arrivent à transmettre les problèmes et questionnements liés à la condition migrante féminine de nos jours, à travers leur utilisation particulière de l’espace dans leurs romans. La métaphore de la prison aide à saisir la complexité de la situation de la femme et de son rapport avec l’espace. Il faut prendre en considération des facteurs comme le déracinement de la femme de la terre natale, sa domination par l’homme et son impuissance face aux événements liés à la migration, ainsi que son emprisonnement par autrui quand la femme est marquée par les préjugés et le racisme de la société d’accueil. La prison de la femme se manifeste également à un autre niveau, soit celui des théories spatiales : les théories spatiales masculines courantes (notamment celles de Bachelard, Merleau-Ponty, Lefebvre, De Certeau et Augé) négligent la situation particulière de la femme. Bien qu’elles aident à exposer ce que les espaces dans les romans nous communiquent et comment il faut lire les espaces, elles sont insuffisantes pour révéler le rapport femme migrante – espace dans toute sa complexité. De plus, la réalité spatiale de la femme telle qu’exposée par les théories féministes (notamment celles de Shands, Rose, Chapman et Massey) saisit seulement en partie le rapport spatial complexe de la femme migrante. La faiblesse des théories mentionnées ci-haut vient du fait qu’elles sont parfois trop simples. Elles ne tiennent pas compte de l’histoire de la femme migrante : due à son histoire particulière, sa conception des termes territoire, chez-soi et identité est tout à fait différente de celle des individus qui n’ont pas fait l’expérience d’un déracinement. En exposant les problèmes particuliers de ces femmes, cette thèse aide à sortir les femmes du silence qui les opprime. Par cette thèse, nous répondons donc à un besoin qui existe dans le champ d’étude : nous plaçons la femme migrante au centre de la réflexion théorique en insistant sur la complémentarité des théories masculines et féminines/féministes et sur la nécessité de combiner plusieurs points de vues théoriques. Par cette thèse, à l’aide de notre analyse des espaces dans les romans, nous précisons la situation nuancée de la femme migrante et apportons des perspectives éclairantes au sujet de son rapport complexe à l’espace. / Contemporary Canadian and German female migration literature is closely linked to questions of space. Authors such as Abla Farhoud (Le bonheur a la queue glissante), Marie-Célie Agnant (La dot de Sara) and Renan Demirkan (Schwarzer Tee mit drei Stück Zucker) communicate problems and questions linked to today’s female migrant condition through their particular use of space in their novels. The prison metaphor helps to reveal the complex situation of the female migrant and her relationship with space: we have to take into consideration elements such as the uprooting from her birth country, her domination by men and her powerlessness regarding the events linked to migration, as well as her confinement by others. For example, these women are often subject to prejudices and racism on the part of the new country’s society. The woman’s prison becomes also obvious when it comes to theories of space: the current male theories of space (especially those by Bachelard, Merleau-Ponty, Lefebvre, De Certeau and Augé) are ignoring the woman’s particular situation. Even though they help to expose what the spaces in the novels are telling us and how we must interpret the spaces, they are unable to reveal the migrant woman’s relationship to space in all its complexity. Also, the spatial reality of women exposed by feminist theories (especially those by Shand, Rose, Chapman and Massay) can only partially understand the complex spatial relationship of migrant women. The weak points of the theories we mentioned here come mostly from the fact that they are too simple: they don’t include the history of the female migrant in their reflections. Due to the female migrant’s particular history, her conception of terms such as territory, home and identity are very different than those of individuals who have not been exposed to the experience of being uprooted. By exposing the particular problems faced by female migrants, this thesis helps break the silence that oppresses them. Therefore, through this thesis, we are filling a gap that exists in the field of research: we are placing the migrant woman in the center of the theoretical reflections, by exposing the complementarity of male and female/feminist theories and the necessity of combining different theoretical points of view. Through this thesis and our analysis of the spaces in the novels, we are giving a precise idea of the woman’s nuanced situation and are offering a clarifying perspective on her complex relationship to space.

During the course of my dissertation I demonstrate the way in which Anglo-Indian women writers of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century diverge from the genre of the "feminine picturesque" as explained by Sara Suleri in her book, The Rhetoric of English India. I look too, at what Indo-English women use as a genre, instead of the "feminine picturesque". I also apply Spivakean ideas on representation to their writing in order to see the similarities and differences between my primary texts and the theory. I begin my dissertation by explaining what Sara Suleri means by the "feminine picturesque" and how I intend using it to better understand the primary texts I look at. I also explain Spivak's ideas on representation and how I intend using them to further my appreciation of Anglo-Indian and Indo-English writing of this period. I conclude my thesis by discussing my findings with regard to the theorists looked at, and how their ideas have been reflected in the four principal texts I examined. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

The aim of this study is to offer a critical analysis of representations of gender violence and resistance to such violence in selected novels by Zimbabwean women writers. A great deal of scholarship on Zimbabwean women writers focuses on well-known authors such as Yvonne Vera and Tsitsi Dangarembga. Even here, the critical emphasis tends to be on the representation of women’s suffering under patriarchy and their status as victims. Although the exposure of gendered suffering is important, these studies often fail to take into consideration the female characters’ agency and survival strategies, including how they go about rebuilding lives and identities in the aftermath of violence. This thesis argues that the fictional texts of other, lesser known Zimbabwean authors are similarly worthy of critical scrutiny, yielding as they can important insights into female characters’ resistance to gender violence. The current study analyses Zimbabwean women writers’ literary contributions to discourses on gender-based violence and explores how female characters have embraced the concept of agency to recreate their identities and to introduce a new gender ethos into the contexts of lives that are often shaped by severe restrictions and oppression. Violence is a phenomenon that is always shaped by specific cultural, ideological and socio-economic forces. As the study shows, characters’ identities are constituted by the complex intersections of a number of markers of difference, including their gender, race and class. This study thus regards identity as intersectional and takes all these factors into consideration in its analysis of the representations of violence and resistance in the selected texts. The study also aims to determine whether these literary representations offer any solutions to the difficulties of characters affected by or living with violence. The works critiqued are Lillian Masitera’s The Trail (2000), Valerie Tagwira’s The Uncertainty of Hope (2006), Virginia Phiri’s Highway Queen (2010) and Violet Masilo’s The African Tea Cosy (2010). / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)