D.Litt. et Phil. / In the Oresteia of Aeschylus, the female characters meet with one of five different fates: vilification, silencing or erasure from the text, metamorphosis, sacrifice or murder. In Ancient Greek culture, ideas of the female corresponded to the following archetypes: Virgin and Wife/Mother. There exists, in mythology, another repository of archetypes which we may categorise as a group of women not connected to the household, functioning on the level of legend or the supernatural, who represent negative degrees of aberration of the feminine. The first two categories, Virgin and Wife/Mother, therefore, are integral to the Greek concept of the oikos (household) whilst the third category, Female Aberrations or Monsters, are seen as a direct threat to the oikos. I postulate a connection between the female characters of Aeschylus’ drama, the mythical archetypes of women found in myth and the fates suffered by each character. My focus in this dissertation, Archetypal Simulacra—Women in Aeschylus’ Oresteia is the depiction of female characters in the Oresteia and how the mythological archetypes of women as described above have influenced this depiction. I aim to determine how Aeschylus used traditional myths and depictions and what the extent and purpose was of his mythopoesis. I first offer a preliminary exploration of women as defined by social practice and various canonical literary works which served to define many mythological precedents for how women were conceived in later literature. This task I divide into two aspects: firstly in an assessment of the archetypes appearing in Greek mythology to which the female characters in the Oresteia correspond; and secondly in an exploration of how these characters were ‘scripted’ into the trilogy and to what extent they supported or undermined their societal ‘script’. In my aim to discover the connection between the portrayal of the female characters, their mythical determinants and the fates they suffer in the course of the drama I conclude that Aeschylus adapts myth in such a way that it underpins and justifies the patriarchal structures. He changes or eradicates his female characters who threaten to reject these strictures. He supplies us with female figures who support the male cause while he violently negates those women who threaten to damage male authority. The playwright has used the plasticity of traditional myth to support the society of Athens with its attitudes and fears regarding the feminine Other who exists in its shadows.

M.A. / Our main objective in this M.A. dissertation was to explore the position of women in Greek folk songs and examine if these folk songs are representative of the social environment which created them or they oppose to it. For this purpose, we carefully studied a wide variety of folk songs and selected a number of songs concerning women in different phases of their lives. These songs belong to the kleftic songs and the songs of the cycle of life. They are widespread all over Greece with slight differences. To support our arguments we also used a wide range of studies concerning our subject. Thus, following the planned scheme of the work and applying the methodology and approaches we defined in the introduction, this study has taken the following form. We divided this study in three parts. The first one consists of two chapters. In the first chapter we defined the socio-historical framework of the Tourkokratia, the era of which the songs we used. In the second chapter we gave general information about the folk songs concerning their origin, characteristics, language and their place in literature, tradition and laography. The second part consists of four chapters. Here we examine the woman as a daughter, wife, mother, mother-in-law, widow. The first chapter includes the love songs and the wedding songs. We saw the woman as a maiden and a would-be wife. We explored the social framework of marriage, the match-making and the issue of dowry. In the second chapter, which includes lullabies, we saw the woman as an affectionate mother, projecting her love but also all her unfulfilled dreams or ideals regarding her child. In the third chapter, where we analysed five paraloges, we witnessed the transformation of this loving mother into a possessive mother and an evil mother-in-law. We saw the way she builds up her world and establishes her position within the family. In the fourth chapter, studying laments, we saw how her world can collapse with the death of one of the members of the family, especially her husband’s. But we also saw the alternative mechanisms she invents and uses to relieve the pain and continue her social existence. The third and last part consists of two chapters. In the first chapter we examine the unfaithful wife and why adultery is such a capital crime in the traditional Greek society. We also examined the social and psychological dimensions of the issue. In the last chapter we examined the heroine and going back in time we began with an akritic song. Finally we placed the heroine in the general spirit of the kleftic songs. In the epilogue, the conclusions of this study are presented. The conclusions prove that these songs, which we studied and compared with the existing social institutions of those times, can sometimes depict reality and sometimes not. A great number of songs give voice to women but at the same time another great number of songs deprive her of her voice. Some praise her, some condemn her. But through the fantasy, the myth, the metaphors, the allusions they ease off the tensions and conflicts inherent in the traditional Greek society always maintaining a balance.

Trapped in the hurricane of a changing cultural landscape, the young women of Kakawangwa, Florida must choose to clutch tradition or side with the times. Pearl and Jasmine are two sisters who come of age after being raised by a single mother in a religious household. Whitney, born a hermaphrodite, must determine her gender and sexuality, despite being married to her husband, Joe. Celeste, a college dropout, returns home to Kakawangwa in disgrace. Blackie, who lives life without inhibition, must cope with the consequences of the choices she makes. Filled with language that is pithy, abrupt, direct, and melodious, The History of Kakawangwa is a narrative that reveals these women as they reconcile the world to themselves. / by Kristen McNair. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Wong Hiu-wing. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-106). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Fear as a Daughter --- p.9 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Fear as a Wife --- p.39 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Fear as a Mother --- p.73 / Conclusion --- p.101 / Works Cited --- p.103

Chan, Ka Man Meg. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-130). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter One --- “Selfless´ح Emma in Emma --- p.13 / Chapter Chapter Two --- The Failed 'Heroine(-to-be)' in Northanger Abbey --- p.49 / Chapter Chapter Three --- 'Wit' and 'Femininity' in Pride and Prejudice --- p.91 / Conclusion --- p.123 / Bibliography --- p.127

Thesis (M. A.(English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2001 / Refer to document

Shirley Jackson's fiction continues to be placed within the gothic horror genre because of its supernatural and horror images. I contend the major focus of her work is her critique of the social norms constructed for women by an archaic and inauthentic patriarchial system of rules and domestic expectation for women that result in madness for the resisting female.

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Margaret Atwood's early fiction provides a valuable insight into issues surrounding the establishment of the women's health movement. From The Edible Woman in 1969 to The Handmaid's Tale in 1985, Atwood's work takes up key issues of the movement during this time. Her fiction explores a number of women's health topics including contraception, abortion, birthing, assisted reproductive technologies, eating disorders and breast cancer. Atwood's interest in the appearance of victims in Canadian literature, however, leads to a rejection of the notion that women are fated victims of patriarchal institutions like medicine. This thesis argues that while she does not deny women can be victims, she refuses to accept that this role is inevitable. Foucault's later constructions of power and resistance are explored with the female protagonists refusing to believe their situations are inescapable. Atwood's recognition of her role as a popular fiction writer and her refusal to wear the 'feminist' label allow her the space to critique the women's health movement. Her early fiction exposes the absolutism of the movement and demonstrates its limitations in accounting for women's diversity.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in English. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-247). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ99241