Recent Dissertations (II)

More recent scholar work:

The insufficient void the problem of an earthly paradise in Wuthering Heights and Dracula
Malara, Gina A.
Bucknell University, 2011.
Supervised by: Ghislaine McDayter

The aim of my thesis is to chart how death and the spirit world what might be defined as our living essence become the sites of a new and remarkably subversive Victorian exploration of the supernatural.

The mortal protest in Wuthering Heights
Welch, Elizabeth A.
2010
Texas State University--San Marcos, 2010.

The World of Wuthering Heights: Earthly Hell or Misanthropist's Heaven?
Tu, Chia-Cheng.
2010
National Cheng Kung University Department of Foreign Languages & Literature (on the job class)

Wuthering Heights is characterized by its myriads of symmetrical pairs, such as two generations, two families, and two houses with contrast living environments. Among those pairs, “hell and heaven” is one of the most popular topics for discussion. The thesis would like to focus on this topic, hopefully comprehending their complicated relationship and unmasking the symbolic connotations. The connection between Wuthering Heights and Paradise Lost will be carefully researched first in the thesis. The findings suggest that Emily Brontë follow the traditions of this grand epic and then create a Satanic figure, Heathcliff, as the hero in Wuthering Heights. Most critiques reckon Heathcliff as an irredeemable sinner, who should be fully responsible for the falls of the Earnshaw and the Linton family. However, the thesis attempts to find out the real root of the great calamity from other perspectives. In the course of solving the hell-heaven enigma, the two themes “fall-redemption” and “nature-civilization” naturally consist of the argumentations for the thesis. There are many questions waiting for workable explications. What causes the fall in the world of Wuthering Heights? Who is condemned for the fall? Is there any redemption in the novel? If yes, who is the blessed one for redemption? Which is the top priority for individuals, nature or civilization? How can we find a balance between them? By going through these arguments, I clarify the notion of hell and heaven in Wuthering Heights. Most important of all, these arguments assist me in making the conclusions. The thesis is composed of four chapters. Chapter One is about the literature review, which is conducted from the three aspects: the textual relationship between Wuthering Heights and Parasdise Lost, fall-redemption, and Heathcliff as Satan and a Byronic hero. Chapter Two deals with the discussion about earthly hell, and it is developed through the “fall” concept. Besides, nature and civilization are also under a close examination. In Chapter Three, misanthropist’s heaven is explored with scrupulous considerations. There are three redemptive groups ranked from low to high. According to the ranking order, Emily Brontë’s possible ideal paradise is briefly sketched out. In Chapter Four, I will offer the answers to the essay questions.

Enclosure, transformation, emergence space and the construction of gender roles in the novels of Charlotte Brontë
Lattanzio, Michelle Dawn.
2010University of South Florida, 2010.

I am interested in the construction and meaning of space in Charlotte Brontë 's novels, and more specifically the idea of enclosure, in abstract and concrete terms. In a concrete sense, I wish to investigate the physical spaces the women in Charlotte Brontë 's novels inhabit: their homes, gardens, workplaces, clothing, and their bodies. In an abstract sense, I wish to investigate the cultural, psychic, gender, and linguistic spaces they inhabit: the cultural images and conventions women are enclosed within, the psychic space of the mind, and the narrative spaces they inhabit (and create). Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, in their seminal text The Madwoman in the Attic, focus on the patriarchal enclosure of female characters in Victorian texts. As many Feminist critics of nineteenth century literature have noted (Vicinus, Agress, Auerbach), these enclosures are largely controlled by the patriarchy. Indeed, the protagonists of Charlotte Brontë's novels reflect the entrapment of the feminine protagonists in a patriarchal world. However, focus on this entrapment obscures the power that characters like Lucy Snowe, Jane Eyre, Shirley Keeldar, and Caroline Helstone generate from their enclosure experience. Each enclosure these three characters experiences fuels their education. Lucy, Jane, Shirley, and Caroline generate power and transformation of self from their time spent in these various enclosures. The education of these characters becomes the education for real women. In order to reclaim and reaffirm the value of enclosure for women, one may trace the positive notions of enclosure through the Jungian model of a three-stage gestation of women's rites of passage: enclosure, transformation, and emergence, as proposed by Bruce Lincoln. This gestational process results in psychological and spiritual transformation. All four protagonists participate in many cycles of the gestational pattern on micro and macro levels. This process results in their eventual transformation and emergence as wise women. It is vital to re-interpret the psychic and physical enclosures within Villette, Shirley and Jane Eyre as spaces that shape the identity of Lucy Snowe, Caroline Helstone, Shirley Keeldar, and Jane Eyre.

Categories: Scholar