Material Information |
| Title: |
"All Our Human Boundries were OverRun" Reconfiguring Motherhood in Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping and Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina and Cavedweller |
| Physical Description: |
Book |
| Language: |
English |
| Creator: |
Young, Sarah M. |
| Publisher: |
New College of Florida |
| Place of Publication: |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| Creation Date: |
2007 |
| Publication Date: |
2007 |
Subjects |
| Subjects / Keywords: |
Mother
Rich, Adrienne
Abandonment
Abuse
Transgression
Subversion
White Trash
Intersectionality
O'Reilly, Andrea
Motherline
Loneliness
Adolescence
Unconventional
Lacan, Kristeva |
| Genre: |
bibliography ( marcgt )
theses ( marcgt )
government publication (state, provincial, terriorial, dependent) ( marcgt )
born-digital ( sobekcm )
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Notes |
| Abstract: |
My thesis focuses on how three contemporary novels reconceive of motherhood and reconfigure its definitions, ethics and ideology. Drawing on Adrienne Rich's examination, in Of Woman Born (1986), of motherhood as experience and institution in a patriarchal culture, I discuss Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping (1980) and Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina (1992) and Cavedweller (1998). Both authors depict characters who subvert and reject notions of an ideal or mythical Mother. In Housekeeping, the transient Sylvie and her adolescent niece Ruthie reconfigure motherhood with perceptions that disregard or move beyond delineations and boundaries, transgressing patriarchally imposed binaries such as "good" versus "bad" mothers. Bone's mother Anney in Bastard Out of Carolina challenges the definition of "mother" when she abandons her daughter in favor of Bone's physically and sexually abusive stepfather. In Cavedweller, Delia Byrd's three adolescent daughters struggle and eventually manage to conceive of their mother, who had abandoned two of them, as a multiplicitous individual. I employ Andrea O'Reilly's "Motherline" essay as a model for how Delia's daughters come to this understanding. Finally, I call for alternative, plural terms for "mother" and for more research into how other societies provide alternatives to mainstream American conventions of motherhood. |
| Statement of Responsibility: |
by Sarah M. Young |
| Thesis: |
Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2007 |
| Electronic Access: |
RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Source of Description: |
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. |
| Local: |
Faculty Sponsor: Dimino, Andrea |
Record Information |
| Source Institution: |
New College of Florida |
| Holding Location: |
New College of Florida |
| Rights Management: |
Applicable rights reserved. |
| Classification: |
local - S.T. 2007 Y7 |
| System ID: |
NCFE003873:00001 |
|
Material Information |
| Title: |
"All Our Human Boundries were OverRun" Reconfiguring Motherhood in Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping and Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina and Cavedweller |
| Physical Description: |
Book |
| Language: |
English |
| Creator: |
Young, Sarah M. |
| Publisher: |
New College of Florida |
| Place of Publication: |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| Creation Date: |
2007 |
| Publication Date: |
2007 |
Subjects |
| Subjects / Keywords: |
Mother
Rich, Adrienne
Abandonment
Abuse
Transgression
Subversion
White Trash
Intersectionality
O'Reilly, Andrea
Motherline
Loneliness
Adolescence
Unconventional
Lacan, Kristeva |
| Genre: |
bibliography ( marcgt )
theses ( marcgt )
government publication (state, provincial, terriorial, dependent) ( marcgt )
born-digital ( sobekcm )
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Notes |
| Abstract: |
My thesis focuses on how three contemporary novels reconceive of motherhood and reconfigure its definitions, ethics and ideology. Drawing on Adrienne Rich's examination, in Of Woman Born (1986), of motherhood as experience and institution in a patriarchal culture, I discuss Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping (1980) and Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina (1992) and Cavedweller (1998). Both authors depict characters who subvert and reject notions of an ideal or mythical Mother. In Housekeeping, the transient Sylvie and her adolescent niece Ruthie reconfigure motherhood with perceptions that disregard or move beyond delineations and boundaries, transgressing patriarchally imposed binaries such as "good" versus "bad" mothers. Bone's mother Anney in Bastard Out of Carolina challenges the definition of "mother" when she abandons her daughter in favor of Bone's physically and sexually abusive stepfather. In Cavedweller, Delia Byrd's three adolescent daughters struggle and eventually manage to conceive of their mother, who had abandoned two of them, as a multiplicitous individual. I employ Andrea O'Reilly's "Motherline" essay as a model for how Delia's daughters come to this understanding. Finally, I call for alternative, plural terms for "mother" and for more research into how other societies provide alternatives to mainstream American conventions of motherhood. |
| Statement of Responsibility: |
by Sarah M. Young |
| Thesis: |
Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2007 |
| Electronic Access: |
RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Source of Description: |
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. |
| Local: |
Faculty Sponsor: Dimino, Andrea |
Record Information |
| Source Institution: |
New College of Florida |
| Holding Location: |
New College of Florida |
| Rights Management: |
Applicable rights reserved. |
| Classification: |
local - S.T. 2007 Y7 |
| System ID: |
NCFE003873:00001 |
|