It is often acknowledged that the sexually intermediate body destabilises sexual dimorphisms, but, so far, little attention has been paid to the way sexual intermediacy relates to normative figurations of time. Focusing mainly on literary and cultural discourses from late Romanticism to Modernism, the thesis examines how constructions of sexual intermediacy have contributed and responded to shifting concerns with temporality. It also investigates the relationship between literature and science through a comparative engagement with evolutionary, psychoanalytic and sexological discourses. The individual chapters deal with the conflicted temporality of the substantiated androgyne; the haunted and uncanny materiality of the hermaphroditic body in late nineteenth-century science and literature; sexual intermediacy and the prescriptive linear narrative of the case history; the sexual, temporal and national crises of World War I; and sexual travels in time and space. Overall, the thesis illustrates that sex and time are intimately related and shows that the changing understanding of sexual intermediacy opens up a powerful critique of sexual and temporal structures.

Lucy Snowe, the heroine of <i>Villette</i>, Charlotte Brontës final novel, is in constant conflict with the dichotomies of patriarchal culture. As she is perpetually torn between the opposing forces of patriarchy, Lucy Snowe inhabits what she calls her own <i>still shadow-world</i> (Brontë164). This thesis explains the nature of the intermediate space Lucy Snowe occupies and examines its repercussions on her mental state. Chapter One theorizes the effect of patriarchal dichotomies on Lucy Snowe to demonstrate that her mental conflict has its roots in the female experience of the opposition between nature and culture. Chapter Twos analysis of the nineteenth-century medical understanding of madness shows that Lucy Snowes melancholy is a symptom of the intermediacy created by conflicting patriarchal expectations. Chapter Three compares Lucy Snowe to the female figure in patriarchal master narratives, which draws attention to the serious consequences of patriarchal culture on women and demonstrates that Lucy is representative of women in conflict with patriarchal expectations. Ultimately, as part of Charlotte Brontës endeavor to represent truth rather than reality, Villette challenges patriarchal expectations of women and presents a different vision of womanhood.

Lucy Snowe, the heroine of <i>Villette</i>, Charlotte Brontës final novel, is in constant conflict with the dichotomies of patriarchal culture. As she is perpetually torn between the opposing forces of patriarchy, Lucy Snowe inhabits what she calls her own <i>still shadow-world</i> (Brontë164). This thesis explains the nature of the intermediate space Lucy Snowe occupies and examines its repercussions on her mental state. Chapter One theorizes the effect of patriarchal dichotomies on Lucy Snowe to demonstrate that her mental conflict has its roots in the female experience of the opposition between nature and culture. Chapter Twos analysis of the nineteenth-century medical understanding of madness shows that Lucy Snowes melancholy is a symptom of the intermediacy created by conflicting patriarchal expectations. Chapter Three compares Lucy Snowe to the female figure in patriarchal master narratives, which draws attention to the serious consequences of patriarchal culture on women and demonstrates that Lucy is representative of women in conflict with patriarchal expectations. Ultimately, as part of Charlotte Brontës endeavor to represent truth rather than reality, Villette challenges patriarchal expectations of women and presents a different vision of womanhood.

Facebook is in the forefront when it comes to technical development and allowing new and faster communication opportunities. In this study, one of the latest technical additions on Facebook is being researched; namely the reaction-button. The aim of this paper is to understand the usage of the reaction-button as well as its impact on interpersonal communications, immediacy and speed in society. The research focuses on six different themes; Culture of Speed, Social acceleration, Space and time, Media richness, Immediacy as well as Telemediation. Empirical material have been collected through qualitative Think-aloud interviews and quantitative content analysis. The research is, among other things, questioning the actual need of a reaction-button and whether it is used the way it is intended. Furthermore, it presents the problematics within a potential harm on social relationships, a loss in communicative value and an inactive behavior caused by the obsession about speeding up online social interactions.

Depuis l’invention du terme hypertexte par Ted Nelson en 1965, il y a eu des débats fréquents à propos des mérites et des dangers des textes numériques, pour savoir si le développement des technologies informatiques causerait l’obsolescence des supports imprimés. Les prophéties étaient apocalyptiques et l’avenir des livres semblait sombre. Environ cinquante ans plus tard, tant les supports imprimés qui étaient condamnés que les hypertextes numériques qui semblaient être leurs exécuteurs existent encore. Les romans sont toujours populaires et les hypertextes aussi. Nul n’est dépassé ou éradiqué par l’autre. Au contraire, la coexistence des livres et leurs homologues numériques a affecté notre perception des textes, des lecteurs, des auteurs et de l’expérience de lecture. Plus important, l’échange entre les deux médias a eu comme résultat l’apparition d’une fiction expérimentale exceptionnelle à la fois sur écran et sur papier. La conjonction entre la fiction et les technologies numériques est au centre de ce projet qui vise à d’étudier l’hyperfiction, ses racines dans la fiction traditionnelle et ses descendants imprimés. / Since Ted Nelson coined the term “hypertext” in 1965, there have been frequent debates on the merits and dangers of digital texts and whether the development of digital technology would outdate the print-based medium. The prophecies were apocalyptic and the future of books seemed bleak. About fifty years later, the doomed print-based medium and the digital hypertexts, their would-be executioners,both still exist. Novels are still popular and so is hyperfiction. Neither outdated or eradicated the other. Instead, the coexistence of books and their digital counterparts has affected ourperception of text, reader, writer and the reading experience. More importantly, the exchange between the two media has resulted in exceptional experimental fiction both on screen and on paper. The conjunction between fiction and digital technology is of concern to this project which attempts to study hyperfiction, its roots in fiction and its printed descendants.