This thesis identifies and discusses three specific approaches to the subject of the unmarried mother in the British and American novel. The novels used to illustrate the perspective of the unmarried mother as a tragic figure are Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson, Adam Bede by George Eliot, Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, and Jennie Gerhardt by Theodore Dreiser. The novels considered in the discussion of the second approach, that of the unmarried mother as a sacrificial figure, are George Moore's Esther Waters, Fannie Hurst's Lummox, Ethel Wilson’s Lilly's Story, and Joyce Carol Oates's A Garden of Earthly Delights. In examining the third approach to the unmarried mother, which perceives of her as a human being who grows in self-awareness and sensitivity to others through her experience, these novels have been used: The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks, The Millstone by Margaret Drabble, Jane by Dee Wells, and Give Me One Good Reason by Norma Klein.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1949. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [188]-194).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 198-213).

Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-62). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 235-242).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 405-430).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed Aug. 2, 2007). PDF text: 245 p. UMI publication number: AAT 3255459. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Inaug.-diss.--Leipzig. / Lebenslauf. "Literaturverzeichnis": p. 129-130.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University. / Bibliography: leaves 69-70. Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

The purpose of this research was two-fold. First, this thesis sought to uncover the implicit concepts associated with mothers in children's stories. Second, this thesis attempted to chart changes in portrayals of mother when translated from print to a visual medium. This research maintains that the concepts of mother in children's stories contain cultural ideals that are related to society's evolving perceptions of mother. Eighteen mother/surrogate mother portrayals were analyzed in 15 novels and 15 videotapes. Each portrayal was coded according to marital status, range of behaviors, 41 individual behaviors within five categories, and the amount of storytime. The results of this thesis reveal that the two most frequent behaviors associated with the role of mother in both media and print are authority and nurturance. The research also found that mother portrayals, when translated to film and television, displayed less dominant and less supportive behaviors than in print versions. Of the 41 individual behaviors coded in both novels and videotapes mothers in films and television were found to display less ability and more affection than their print versions. In conclusion, this study found that mother portrayals, when translated to film and television, may be altered to increase their mass audience appeal.