"This thesis proposes a Kristevan reading of the fantasy novels of Stephen Donaldson, with particular attention given to Kristeva's concepts of the symbolic order, the semiotic 'chora', abjection, the imaginery father and the thetic. It also identifies and comments on shortcomings in Kristevan theory. Donaldson's fantasies are dominated by male protagonists, one of whom is a leper while the others are rapists or murderers or else engaged in some form of violence or sexual perversion. This thesis not only offers an interpretation for this representation of disease and gross physical abuse, but also looks to the implication such corporeality brings to bear on the amatory relationships that the novels attempt to establish. "The thesis is organized into three broad sections. The first considers the ways in which the concept of the mother manifests in Donaldson's text and how the male protagonists respond to the maternal dynamic established in these books. [...] The second section of the thesis examines the role played by Donaldson's father figures. [...] The third section of [the] thesis examines the consequences of this male vulnerability with regard to its central characters who oscillate between symbolic standing and semiotic sprawl." / Doctor of Philosophy

"This thesis proposes a Kristevan reading of the fantasy novels of Stephen Donaldson, with particular attention given to Kristeva's concepts of the symbolic order, the semiotic 'chora', abjection, the imaginery father and the thetic. It also identifies and comments on shortcomings in Kristevan theory. Donaldson's fantasies are dominated by male protagonists, one of whom is a leper while the others are rapists or murderers or else engaged in some form of violence or sexual perversion. This thesis not only offers an interpretation for this representation of disease and gross physical abuse, but also looks to the implication such corporeality brings to bear on the amatory relationships that the novels attempt to establish. "The thesis is organized into three broad sections. The first considers the ways in which the concept of the mother manifests in Donaldson's text and how the male protagonists respond to the maternal dynamic established in these books. [...] The second section of the thesis examines the role played by Donaldson's father figures. [...] The third section of [the] thesis examines the consequences of this male vulnerability with regard to its central characters who oscillate between symbolic standing and semiotic sprawl." / Doctor of Philosophy