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"Their Mutuall Embracements": Discourses on Male-Female Connection in Early Modern England

Thesis advisor: Caroline Bicks / Routinely recognized as deeply patriarchal, early modern England is an era in which men and characteristics of the male gender are assumed to have held unrelenting sway over their female counterparts. This description is largely justifiable, particularly given the era's legal codes. However, this thesis seeks to enrich discussions on early modern England by examining its male-female relationships through a markedly different lens. By highlighting the close relationships that existed alongside patriarchal mandates in the era - husband and wife, father and daughter, mother and son - a fuller portrait of the period is sketched. Through an examination of how a variety of genres - medical, religious, and dramatic - grappled with moments of union between the two sexes, particularly physical union and its concurrent or resultant emotional bonds, this thesis offers greater insight into how walls to male-female connection were both raised and bridged in the time period. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: English. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_102152
Date January 2008
CreatorsWilliams, Lindsay
PublisherBoston College
Source SetsBoston College
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, thesis
Formatelectronic, application/pdf
RightsCopyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted.

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