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CIRCLES OF PARADISE AND INFERNO: THE WOMEN IN JOHN UPDIKE'S "RABBIT" TRILOGY

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Date Issued:
1984
Summary:
John Updike's trilogy, Rabbit, Run (1960), Rabbit Redux (1971), and Rabbit Is Rich (1981), provides insight into the evolving roles and attitudes of men and women in contemporary society. The characters reflect the psychological and sociological milieu of three successive decades in suburban American life. Although feminists have described Updike's treatment of women as condescending, the women in this trilogy emerge as strong and spirited characters who exist more comfortably in the world than do their male counterparts. To impart strength to these women, Updike continually associates them with Nature and circle imagery, reinforcing their innate connection with the organic rhythms of life. Sharing with Nature the function of life-giving, women exist on an eternal plane as integral parts of the birth-death-rebirth cycle.
Title: CIRCLES OF PARADISE AND INFERNO: THE WOMEN IN JOHN UPDIKE'S "RABBIT" TRILOGY.
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Name(s): KOPELOWITZ, LYNN WOLF.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Coyle, William, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1984
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 115 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: John Updike's trilogy, Rabbit, Run (1960), Rabbit Redux (1971), and Rabbit Is Rich (1981), provides insight into the evolving roles and attitudes of men and women in contemporary society. The characters reflect the psychological and sociological milieu of three successive decades in suburban American life. Although feminists have described Updike's treatment of women as condescending, the women in this trilogy emerge as strong and spirited characters who exist more comfortably in the world than do their male counterparts. To impart strength to these women, Updike continually associates them with Nature and circle imagery, reinforcing their innate connection with the organic rhythms of life. Sharing with Nature the function of life-giving, women exist on an eternal plane as integral parts of the birth-death-rebirth cycle.
Identifier: 14212 (digitool), FADT14212 (IID), fau:11023 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1984.
Subject(s): Updike, John--Political and social views.
Updike, John--Criticism and interpretation.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14212
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.