published_or_final_version / English Studies and Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Arts

This thesis examines the literary uses of biblical typology in the last three decades of the nineteenth century. It aims to show how late Victorian writers, having opted out of the orthodox Christian beliefs of the age, were still writing from within a cultural discourse shaped by, and based upon, such faith. Covering works as diverse as Sartor Resartus, De Profundis, and The Island of Doctor Moreau, and discussing writers who range from Mary Augusta Ward via Hardy to Strindberg and Dostoevsky, my contention is that these writers not only used the structure, terminology, and imagery of biblical typology to express their religious doubts, but that they 'reclaimed' what was strictly seen as a mode of exegesis and transformed it into a richly suggestive signifying system. Through this reconstructed mode of expression, they could offer to their readers ideas of a new 'religion' or, at least, a possible way out of the despair caused by the ultimate failure of Christian faith. The thesis is presented in three parts, the first of which briefly details the various available definitions of biblical typology itself. Following this, each sub-section of Part One traces a different aspect of late Victorian typology usage. Parts Two and Three deal with what I claim to be the two major strains of the late nineteenth century's secular use of typology - those concerned, respectively, with the 'imitation of' or 'association with' biblical types in their relation to literary characters. The changes made to the traditional biblical typology by late Victorian writers, as examined in this thesis, brought the biblical anti-type closer to the Jungian archetype, just as it brought the Nineteenth Century closer to our twentieth-century view of our religious and textual inheritance.

This study focuses on three significant issues addressed by utopian literature of the late Victorian period: the class struggle and the resulting debate about capitalism and socialism, the nature and significance of language, and the influence of Darwin's theory of evolution on attitudes toward human existence. The utopian reaction to each of these three issues reflects the increasingly scientific investigation and analysis of specialized fields of knowledge that developed throughout the nineteenth century. Within the context of major scientific advancements in biology, geology, linguistics, and technology, utopian literature of the late-Victorian period, c. 1871-1905, responds primarily to two opposing nineteenth-century attitudes, the complacent optimism of laissez-faire individualism and the resigned pessimism of naturalistic determinism. Literary utopianism of the late nineteenth century is an attempt to resolve the philosophical and epistemological conflict between the impersonal and seemingly unalterable natural laws of science and the indomitable human will. I contend that the utopian novel re-emerges in the last third of the nineteenth century at the intersection of scientific discourse and literary discourse. I further argue that the late Victorian utopia marks a critical transition between the classic utopia the modern utopia. / Department of English

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The focus of this study is upon Gerard Manley Hopkins~s literary opinions about the state of affairs of Victorian England regarding its defence, religions, science, politics, the economy, and other concerns. His claim to a legitimate voice lies in the tremendous amount of erudite knowledge he accumulated over the years, on many different subjects, and his classical education. Major focus is on his pristine awareness of the Anglo-Saxons and their language of Old English. Hopkins's unique style of writing poetry and his contribution to Victorian philology is highlighted. The work also deals, in some degree, with his mental state at various periods in his life, and attempts to disclose an overcoming of the anguish and depression evident in the poems. His enduring spirit under the grave swamping of Christianity by destructive discourses is another major theme. / ENGLISH STUDIES / M.A. (ENGLISH)

The focus of this study is upon Gerard Manley Hopkins~s literary opinions about the state of affairs of Victorian England regarding its defence, religions, science, politics, the economy, and other concerns. His claim to a legitimate voice lies in the tremendous amount of erudite knowledge he accumulated over the years, on many different subjects, and his classical education. Major focus is on his pristine awareness of the Anglo-Saxons and their language of Old English. Hopkins's unique style of writing poetry and his contribution to Victorian philology is highlighted. The work also deals, in some degree, with his mental state at various periods in his life, and attempts to disclose an overcoming of the anguish and depression evident in the poems. His enduring spirit under the grave swamping of Christianity by destructive discourses is another major theme. / ENGLISH STUDIES / M.A. (ENGLISH)

The main themes of this thesis are masculinities, fluctuations in socially constructed gender roles at the fin de siècle and how a number of cathartic issues influenced these. The strongest of these issues was the New Woman Question which, while demanding developments for women, threatened the stability of Victorian gender norms. This forced both sexes to rethink and renegotiate their positions within society. Women sought options that would free them from the vagaries of the marriage market and looked to move into a more public sphere. Many saw this as a threat to the patriarchal status quo and the debates that ensued were many and vociferous. In response to this, men had to look within and question various modes of masculinity and manliness that they had previously taken for granted and that they now viewed as under threat. The fin de siècle was a time of major gender upheaval which, I propose, is reflected in its literature. I intend to explore the anxieties of both genders by examination of the selected texts which cover pertinent aspects of the similarities and contrasts in the way male and female authors negotiate masculinities in relation to social and gendered spaces. In this way, I hope to investigate the underlying themes which inform the novels. I aim to research reasons for disparity in approaches to gender issues, to highlight the importance of masculinities in relation to gendered positions in fin-de-siècle discourses and to show why relations between the sexes had to evolve.

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