Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Award Date
2016
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Katherine Malone
Keywords
Carmilla, Goblin Market, Hesba Stretton, queer theory, The Ghost in the Clock Room, Victorian family
Abstract
In my thesis, I use a queer theoretical lens to consider three Victorian texts, Hesba Stretton’s “The Ghost in the Clock Room,” Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market,” and J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla. I apply queer theory to locate these authors’ attempts to destabilize heteronormativity by depicting non-normative gender roles, sexualities, and families in texts that emphasize the Victorian ideology of separate spheres. Many scholars imagine the separation of spheres as simply relegating women to a domestic sphere that reinforced traditional values and restricted their power. However, these works demonstrate that opportunities for power and queer possibility exist within the home and family, or so-called domestic sphere. This thesis seeks to locate and celebrate these queer and transgressive possibilities.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Sex role in literature
Families in literature
English literature -- 19th century -- History and criticism Queer theory
Stretton, Hesba, 1832-1911
Ghost in the clock room
Rossetti, Christina Georgina, 1830-1894
Goblin market;
Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan, 1814-1873
Carmilla
Description
Includes bibliographical references (page 86-92)
Format
application/pdf
Number of Pages
97
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Rights
Copyright © 2016 Randi Mihajlovic
Recommended Citation
Mihajlovic, Randi, "Queering the Spheres: Non-Normative Gender, Sexuality, and Family in Three Victorian Texts" (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 974.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/974
Included in
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons