Charles Dickenss novels are full of instances of parental inversion, in which cruel or hapless (and usually male) parents are cared for by their far more capable (and typically female) children. Our Mutual Friend features many such father-daughter relationships, with one exception: that of Bella Wilfer and her father. Bella does not so much take care of her father as discipline himplayfully, but also very physically. The violence of this physicality becomes the means of an erotics of sadomasochism between father and daughter, as Pa Wilfer gleefully submits to Bellas mock-serious reprimands and aggressive manhandling. This paper explores the psychology of Bellas and Wilfers dynamic in relation to pre-Freudian theories of sexuality, Victorian material culture studies, and current critical discourses on Our Mutual Friend.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-06302011-171927 |
| Date | 29 July 2011 |
| Creators | Ingrisani, Emma |
| Contributors | Michael Kreyling |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-06302011-171927/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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