Some research has been done on this subject, although sparsely. The purpose of this study is to determine how, why, and to what extent representation in fiction matters, in regard to socially stigmatized groups of people, focusing on mental health, sexuality, and gender roles. The main focus is on bonding with fictional characters, how it relates to representation and its importance. Eleven (cis)female participants shared their own experiences with this. Each written reply was condensed, eventually narrowed down to three main components considered central to this phenomenon; (1) a sense of isolation, (2) an inability to cope, and (3) relatability in characters. These components can all be connected to loneliness, which suggests that loneliness plays a large part in one's sense of self-worth. Thus, representation can be argued to be vital, due to its function of including and speaking for stigmatized groups of people, granting a sense of belonging and support.

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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余婉兒. / 論文(碩士) -- 香港中文大學硏究院中國語言文學系, 1995. / 參考文獻: leaves 6-27 (4th group) / Yu Wan'er. / Chapter 第一章 --- 緖言 --- p.1 / 論文硏究的目的、範圍和方法 / 註釋 --- p.6 / Chapter 第二章 --- 生平和作品 / Chapter 第一節 --- 王安憶傳 --- p.7 / Chapter 第二節 --- 王安憶的理論及其創作 --- p.35 / 註釋 --- p.52 / Chapter 第三章 --- 小說中女性形象的分析 --- p.57 / Chapter 第一節 --- 純潔善良的天使 --- p.59 / Chapter 第二節 --- 自尊自重的人格 --- p.64 / Chapter 第三節 --- 堅韌的力行者 --- p.70 / Chapter 第四節 --- 母性的行使者 --- p.78 / 註釋 --- p.88 / Chapter 第四章 --- 女性的追求 --- p.93 / Chapter 第一節 --- 透過愛情顯示對理想的追求 --- p.94 / Chapter 第二節 --- 生命意義的追求 --- p.101 / Chapter 第三節 --- 追求的態度 --- p.104 / 註釋 --- p.109 / Chapter 第五章 --- 女性與男性的關係 --- p.111 / Chapter 第一節 --- 男性的理性英雄形象 --- p.113 / Chapter 第二節 --- 男性的弱化 --- p.119 / Chapter 第三節 --- 男性的鏡子意義 --- p.129 / Chapter 第四節 --- 女性對男性的背叛 --- p.135 / 註釋 --- p.139 / Chapter 第六章 --- 女性的超越 --- p.143 / Chapter 第一節 --- 人格的超越 --- p.145 / Chapter 第二節 --- 愛情的超越 --- p.149 / Chapter 第三節 --- 性愛的超越 --- p.155 / Chapter 第四節 --- 女性英雄歷史的建立 --- p.163 / 註釋 --- p.173 / Chapter 第七章 --- 女性的出路 --- p.177 / Chapter 第一節 --- 弱者意識 --- p.179 / Chapter 第二節 --- 找尋男性能力不能抵達的空間 --- p.183 / Chapter 第三節 --- 建立私人的空間一一家庭 --- p.186 / Chapter 第四節 --- 內心世界的開拓一一追求內心世界的完善 --- p.192 / 註釋 --- p.198 / Chapter 第八章 --- 女性的困境 --- p.200 / Chapter 第一節 --- 空中樓閣式的世界 --- p.202 / Chapter 第二節 --- 男性的背叛 --- p.206 / Chapter 第三節 --- 女性強大愛情的後果 --- p.214 / Chapter 第四節 --- 傳統意識的積澱 --- p.217 / 註釋 --- p.232 / Chapter 第九章 --- 總結 --- p.236 / Chapter 第一節 --- 重建女性的王國 --- p.237 / Chapter 第二節 --- 不是「女性主義者」的女性意識 --- p.245 / Chapter 第三節 --- 王安憶的世界 --- p.250 / 後記 --- p.252 / 註釋 --- p.253 / 附錄： / Chapter 【一】 --- 王安憶作品目錄 --- p.1 / Chapter 【二】 --- 參考書目 --- p.6 / Chapter 【三】 --- 參考期刊及論文目錄 --- p.11 / Chapter 【四】 --- 王安憶小說編年 --- p.28 / Chapter 【五】 --- 王安憶年譜 --- p.32

This thesis explores representations of fictional consciousness (the fictional mind) in the novel The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Casares Bioy through the lens of cognitive approaches to literature. I first argue that the ways in which we interact with fictional minds is not unlike the way that we interact with real minds. Utilizing a cognitive hermeneutic means laying bare some of the cognitive frames and processes which are embedded into fictional worlds. I then argue that consciousness itself is narratively structured. Conscious experience is gappy and lies atop an enormous, largely unconscious realm of cognitive processing. This thesis seeks to uncover some of these processes as represented in the fictional mind, arguing that representations of fictional consciousness are composed of internal narratives (like mental events, wishes, desires, etc.) mirroring the narrative structure of real consciousness. Finally, I argue that representations of consciousness are embodied and can be read in tandem with the fictional world in which they are situated. The feedback loop between the fictional mind and its fictional environment, both physical and sociocultural, is the starting point for a powerful, interdisciplinary reading methodology. / Thesis / Master of English

This dissertation deals with the symbolic uses of the prominent old houses in selected fiction of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, and Henry James. The major texts include Hawthorn's "Peter Goldthwaite's Treasure," The House of Seven Gables, and Doctor Grimshawe's Secret; Dicken's Bleak House, Great Expectations, and Little Dorrit; and James's The Portrait of a Lady, "The Jolly Corner," and The Sense of the Past. The introductory chapter of the dissertation points out the importance of the house in nineteenth-century fiction. To a century which was obsessed with time and particularly fascinated by the past, the house could serve as a literary symbol of the past and aid in the investigation of the relation of a character to the past he has experienced and the past he remembers with various degrees of accuracy. For Hawthorne, Dickens, and James the house is always more than inanimate space. It is linked by imagination and memory to the past. Chapter II identifies and defines the house of the imagined past. The house has a name and a long history which illuminates the present situation of the inhabitants. All three authors draw freely from the gothic tradition to fill the houses with old relics, curses, secrets, sins, and treasures from the past. Seeking the treasure--hidden gold in some cases, self-knowledge in others--the characters keep the past alive in their old houses. The character in the house of the imagined past is often fragmented because he does not understand or accept his relation with his own past. Time inside the house of the past is arbitrary. The past, or certain imagined or remembered portions of it dominate the space. Chapter III concerns the functions of the house. First, the actual fact of the house's existence generates action in the works. Second, the physical relation to his house suggests aspects of the character's spiritual state. The characters search and probe, even assault their houses, seeking themselves. Third, all three authors continually emphasize parallels between houses and people. Characters voluntarily imprison themselves in their houses just as they willingly imprison themselves in their interpretations of the past. The house also suggests that the past lives into and influences the present by means of heredity and environment. In addition, the physical state of the house mirrors the spiritual state of the characters: morally sick people inhabit decaying houses. Even further, houses become animated, metonymic representations of their inhabitants. The house of the past, then, projects or represents the character's mind. In Chapter IV I deal with the final return to and departure from the house of the imagined past. Finally the characters recognize the imprisoning nature of their obsessions and can then leave the house of the past or as happens in many cases, can be rescued by a woman who lives in the present. Hawthorne's characters turn their backs on the past with relief and turn to the present. Dickens's characters must know the past, accept it, and build on it, not simply turn away as Hawthorne's characters do. James allows his characters to close the door of the house of the past behind them if they can find love in the present. If domestic happiness is impossible, however, the broad human past can offer imagined solace and relief. The final chapter points out that Hawthorne, Dickens, and James, like many other authors, recognize archetypal and psychological relationships between a human and the space he inhabits. They use the house to understand the self, especially in relation to the past.

So far the academical reception of Czech chronicle by Václav Hájek of Libočany was criticized for not being considerate of the early modern period literary context. It can be concluded from this paper's analysis of previous critiques and interpretations of Hájek's chronicle and from the excerption of key aspects of the theory of fictional worlds, that there is a lack of knowledge about the early modern period discoursive praxis, which defined the fictionality of text(s), as well as about formal and methodical aspects of this kind of work. Only through a thorough inspections of these two aspects it is possible to understand Czech chronicle and similar works as both historiographical sources and components of literary progress. This paper is comprised of selection of theoretical tools meant to identify the distinctions between fictional and non-fictional narratives, of overview of Hájek's chronicle's reception in compendia and editorial comments, and finally of a synthesis of theoretical conclusions and practical classifications of Hájek's chronicle, meaning this paper evaluates their expressive value regarding the current (non-)fictional state of Czech chronicle.

This dissertation is a study in philosophy of education and focuses on the moral dimensions of an individual’s formation, and on how reading fictional literature can contribute to the process of formation. The point of departure is the notion that education contains – or should contain – moral dimensions and thus contributes to the formation of individual life and a life shared with others. The study revolves around the philosophical works of Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) and what she calls “moral transformation” - a task and a striving towards realism and unselfishness. The study is concluded by a discussion of how Murdoch’s thinking contributes to the understanding of formation within philosophy of education. It is argued that Murdoch’s ideas about moral transformation can be summarised in four theses and that these show that transformation is a process of profound individual change. The theses are in short: 1) imagination supports moral transformation by allowing the individual to understand the world in a more realistic way, 2) attention supports transformation by directing the individual towards the good, 3) unselfing is a moral state of consciousness and a transformative process that leads towards unselfishness. The ego is subdued and the individual opens up to the influence of his or her surroundings, 4) reading fictional literature supports the moral transformation of the individual if the text has a quality of imagination. The study shows that Murdoch’s work can make an important contribution to the understanding of formation within the philosophy of education: With the idea of moral transformation as a point of departure the study develops questions of the individual’s formation by highlighting individuality and imagination. Moral transformation means gaining a deeper presence in one’s relationships, and it is a continuous process of discovering the world that the individual needs to endeavour to maintain. It is a striving towards unselfing.

A Veritable Press is a collection of six short stories, focusing on the troubled relationships of its characters, exhibited both internally and externally. While the characters in these stories experience the effects of their own decisions, they are generally more affected by forces outside their control, whether those are the choices of others, or the inexplicability of nature. Most characters seek redemption, though they are denied the means to deliver themselves as they move towards an end that seems inevitable. This feeling of inevitability represents the arbitrary and seemingly unsystematic nature of circumstance. Through the use of distinct voices, multiple narratives, and metafiction, each piece works to exhibit an entirely realistic portrait of its places and characters, endeavoring to force its reader to face what is most unpleasant and appalling, in order to understand it. / You and I -- Violet in blue, swimming -- Mole hunt -- We three make up a solitude -- Savages -- Other books. / Department of English

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