The prostitute and the concept of prostitution played a meaningful role in both Frank Wedekind's life and his dramatic efforts. From his early youth to the writing of' his drama Schloss Wetterstein (1910), Wedekind remained deeply interested in the personal, social and philosophical problems generated by the existence of the prostitute and what he imagined her sensually based philosophy of life to be. Four of Wedekind's dramas were dealt with, which seem to be representative of his struggle to vindicate his own corresponding philosophy of sensuality. The first drama, Elins Erweckung (Elin's Awakening-1887), is important as his first drama dealing with the prostitute. It is largely socio-critical in tone and develops character types, which will later appear in other Wedekind dramas concerning the prostitute. Das Sonnenspektrum (~Spectrum of the Sun-l894), the fragmentary, second play analysed, develops the theme of sensual joy carried to its practical limit: a garden of physical love, where art and man's physical appetites live in harmony. The philosophical implications of unrestrained physical love, as embodied by the prostitute, take on a darker hue in the third drama, Tod und Teufel (Death and the Devil-1905). In this drama Wedekind's disillusionment with sensual love is shown. Its characters are not freely enjoying their unrestrained sensuality; they are driven by inner, bestial forces to their destruction. Wedekind attempts to rescue daemonic sexuality in the final drama worked with, Schlos Wetterstein (Wetterstein Castle). He creates the ''Edelhure'' (Noble Whore) in this work, who triumphs philosophically over sensual pleasure, but pays with her life. Her death is proud, but real. With Schloss Wetterstein ends Wedekind's attempt to reconcile unrestrained sensuality with practical reality. He found that the prostitute could not outrun the fate inevitably awaiting her, if she (and himself) looked for the meaning of life on the dark side of Man's existence. Death only, awaits those who open Pandora’s Box I

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 310-341).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1996. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [280]-296).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 334-363).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Aug. 7, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-29).

Prostitutes have played a significant role in society and literature for many centuries, both as subjects of irresistible desire and repentant shame. Although prostitution plays a role in patriarchy, female prostitutes have often defied the conventions of patriarchal society by supporting themselves outside marriage, outside the reign of religious conviction and, more recently, by seeking to continue their professional work with legal sanction. Other groups of women, such as those active in civic reform interests, have yearned for the reformation of prostitute behaviors, powerfully countering the cry from those who support prostitution and call for their legal right to pursue their profession. As a literary theme, prostitution makes a remarkably consistent showing throughout time, but it was not until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that the prostitute as a character was portrayed in such a way as to allow prevailing assumptions to disperse. This study discusses the representations of prostitutes in two novels by American authors, Stephen Crane and Theodore Dreiser, as read through the lens of social science literature existing during the authors' lives. The social science literature noted here spans most of the nineteenth century and was known to maintain a high degree of influence over social scientists of the time. The novels cover a period stretching from 1893 (with the first publication of Maggie) to 1907 (with the second publication of Sister Carrie). This study explores how each author's portrayal of the prostitute character corresponds with the stereotypical assumptions of the day and how the representations differ from those stereotypes. The study also examines portraits taken of the Storyville Prostitutes by a commercial photographer in New Orleans, E. J. Bellocq, in order to exemplify the visual aspects and constructions of prostitution. Due in part to the principles of scientific determinism that influenced writers like Crane and Dreiser, the prostitute was observed and portrayed through a lens presumed to filter out subjective convictions which had so long colored the prostitute in a reddish light. By analyzing three forms of representation--the photograph, the sociological report, and the novel--my thesis shows that accepted ideologies were beginning to change with respect to the ways people viewed prostitutes.

The narratives of Asian American female sex workers are stories that demonstrate pain, pleasure, and power. These depictions often portray a woman as desirable (submissive and obedient because she was “saved” by a White man) or undesirable (war prostitute disrupting the purity of America). This is due to the failed efforts from policymakers and English educators to look beyond simple Black versus White racial relationships and beyond the needs of White feminists. When this occurs, the Asian American female student finds herself invisible. The purpose of this study was to look specifically through the niche demographic of Asian American female sex workers. This study was not meant to exclude other women, men, and humans of Asian descent, or sex workers of other races, but these are the first individuals I had the privilege of accessing as I am only beginning my sex work scholar journey. These particular women are of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese descent, and this specified the research of my literature review. Because they also all identify as cisgender, gender dynamics were explored in this context. The participants were sampled to explore the historical and current conditions of Asian American females, the curriculum they received (or did not receive) in their high school English classes regarding Asian American female protagonists or storytelling of the body, and how these factors affected their sex work experiences. This research also moved to deepen the definition of sex work. As sex work is traditionally a consensual sexual service or erotic performance in exchange for money or goods, many women provide their services without consent or without money—and sometimes without both. The sex work, or sexual abuse, is then more of an unwanted labor they are forced to carry with them painfully. This research was not out to prove sex work is wrong or right; rather, it talked across the pain, pleasure, profit, problems, and power of these experiences. It also presents a more modernized take on sexual ways of being. I reached an authentic understanding of how these women’s bodies were navigated in the classroom, the bedroom, and beyond. With their stories, new policies and pedagogies are proposed to better serve forgotten female students in the English classroom by using the body as an entry point for unique storytelling.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains v, 111 p. Includes bibliographical references.