British literature of the long nineteenth century, exemplified by three authors who lived and wrote in England from the late eighteenth to the turn of the twentieth centuries, was deeply focused on understanding human relationships and increasing equality between the sexes. From the novels of Jane Austen in the late Romantic period, through George Eliot’s Victorian novels, to the prose and plays of Oscar Wilde written on the cusp of a new century, constructions of love and marriage matured within and throughout the authors’ life experiences and art, affecting and reflecting cultural changes in all levels of English society but most notably through the changing mores of the rising middle class. Attesting to their lasting universality in depicting male and female emotions, social standards, and cultural goals, the written works of Austen, Eliot, and Wilde influenced a century of contemporary readers and continue to draw audiences for their timeless understandings of, and insightful approaches to, human relationships. Through detailed analysis of the authors’ selected works, with references to contemporary and modern critical interpretations, I will focus on these ever evolving individual and collective constructs of love and marriage, from Austen’s practical approach to love and sometimes deceptively witty arguments for equal partnership in marriage, through Eliot’s complex studies of individuality and redefined concepts of marriage, to Wilde’s insistence that love, marriage, and partnership be redefine by and true to self, despite pressure to conform. Throughout this detailed study of increasing realism in English society and fiction, changing gender roles and rights, developing relationships between the sexes, and the evolution of conceptions of love, the institution of marriage, a partnership between and within the sexes, this dissertation will focus on the long-term effects of the literary contributions of Austen, Eliot, and Wilde to ever evolving constructions of love and marriage in nineteenth-century England and their enduring effects on the Western World. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / January 18, 2018. / Austen, Eliot, Love, Marriage, Wilde / Includes bibliographical references. / Candace Ward, Professor Directing Dissertation; Aimee Boutin, University Representative; Barry Faulk, Committee Member; Eric Walker, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_653366 |
| Contributors | Anderson, Paula Jean (author), Ward, Candace (professor directing dissertation), Boutin, Aimée, 1970- (university representative), Faulk, Barry J. (committee member), Walker, Eric C. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of English (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, doctoral thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (228 pages), computer, application/pdf |
Page generated in 0.017 seconds