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Establishing the Bondmother: Examining the Categorization of Maternal Figures in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Paradise
Title
Establishing the Bondmother: Examining the Categorization of Maternal Figures in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Paradise.
Creator
Tisdale, Ashely, Hagood, Taylor, Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
Abstract/Description
Literary scholars have been examining and recreating the experiences of “bonded” female characters within Toni Morrison’s novels for decades. However, the distinct experiences of these enslaved women, that are also mothers have not been astutely examined by scholars and deserves more attention. My thesis fleshes out the characterization of several of Morrison’s bonded-mothers and identifies them as a part of a developing controlling image and theory, called the bondmother. Situating these...
Show moreLiterary scholars have been examining and recreating the experiences of “bonded” female characters within Toni Morrison’s novels for decades. However, the distinct experiences of these enslaved women, that are also mothers have not been astutely examined by scholars and deserves more attention. My thesis fleshes out the characterization of several of Morrison’s bonded-mothers and identifies them as a part of a developing controlling image and theory, called the bondmother. Situating these characters within this category allows readers to trace their journeys towards freedom and personal redemption. This character tracing will occur by examining the following Toni Morrison novels: Beloved (1987) and Paradise (1997). In order to fully examine the experiences of these characters it will be necessary for me to expand the definition of bondage and mother.
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Date Issued
2016
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004696, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004696
Subject Headings
African American families in literature, African American women in literature, Morrison, Toni -- Beloved -- Criticism and interpretation, Morrison, Toni -- Characters -- Mothers, Morrison, Toni -- Paradise -- Criticism and interpretation, Morrison, Toni -- Political and social views, Motherhood in literature, Slavery in literature
Format
Document (PDF)
Marriage and motherhood in Defoe's "Roxana" and "Moll Flanders"
Title
Marriage and motherhood in Defoe's "Roxana" and "Moll Flanders".
Creator
Green, Gayle Ellen., Florida Atlantic University, Anderson, David R.
Abstract/Description
In Daniel Defoe's Roxana and Moll Flanders, the title characters represent strong and independent women, who survive despite economic hardships. Moll, who seeks advantageous alliances, manipulates the marriage market to find good husbands, while Roxana, who rejects marriage, prefers to be a mistress. Because of these characterizations, many feminist scholars consider Defoe a proto-feminist. In doing so, however, they fail to consider the outcomes of both narratives. Although Moll and Roxana...
Show moreIn Daniel Defoe's Roxana and Moll Flanders, the title characters represent strong and independent women, who survive despite economic hardships. Moll, who seeks advantageous alliances, manipulates the marriage market to find good husbands, while Roxana, who rejects marriage, prefers to be a mistress. Because of these characterizations, many feminist scholars consider Defoe a proto-feminist. In doing so, however, they fail to consider the outcomes of both narratives. Although Moll and Roxana share many similarities, their fates are very different. Moll enters into a happy marriage and acquires a considerable estate, but Roxana's narrative concludes with her pain and misery. These different endings demonstrate that Defoe reinforces traditional roles for women, rather than advocating their independence from them. He rewards Moll for her decision to remain in the marriage market, but he punishes Roxana for her rejection of it.
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Date Issued
1997
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15379
Subject Headings
Defoe, Daniel,--1661?-1731--Criticism and interpretation., Defoe, Daniel,--1661?-1731.--Fortunate mistress., Defoe, Daniel,--1661?-1731.--Fortunes and misfortunes of the famous Moll Flanders., Marital status in literature., Motherhood in literature.
Format
Document (PDF)