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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
An Exploration Of Female Sexuality, Class Status, And Art In Hardy’S Short Stories, Erin M. Lanza
An Exploration Of Female Sexuality, Class Status, And Art In Hardy’S Short Stories, Erin M. Lanza
Student Publications
In this paper, I examine Hardy’s treatment of female sexuality as mediated by art in two short stories: “The Fiddler of the Reels” and “An Imaginative Woman.” Given Hardy’s role as an artist, his noted compassion for women, and his interest in Victorian attitudes toward sexuality, my analysis of these topics in his short stories is particularly relevant. Hardy’s investment in class issues is also pertinent, as I consider how Hardy uses his heroines’ relationships with art to underline the distinct disadvantages of lower-class women. While Ella, the middle-class heroine of “An Imaginative Woman,” uses poetry to channel stagnant sensual …
More Than A 'Mere Painted Scene': The Role Of Theatricality And The Carnivalesque In 'The Mayor Of Casterbridge', Christine R. Vahaly
More Than A 'Mere Painted Scene': The Role Of Theatricality And The Carnivalesque In 'The Mayor Of Casterbridge', Christine R. Vahaly
Student Publications
This essay examines the role of Thomas Hardy's scenes of community theatre, drawing examples from Far from the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, and The Mayor of Casterbridge. Only in such scenes from The Mayor of Casterbridge does Hardy employ Mikhail Bakhtin's carnivalesque, reversing the roles of the spectator and the creator of spectacle, the supporting cast and the lead actor, in order to magnify the fall of protagonist Michael Henchard.
The Subversion Of Traditional Gender Roles In Thomas Hardy’S 'The Mayor Of Casterbridge', Emma S. Shaw
The Subversion Of Traditional Gender Roles In Thomas Hardy’S 'The Mayor Of Casterbridge', Emma S. Shaw
Student Publications
This essay examines Thomas Hardy's understanding and subversion of gender roles in The Mayor of Casterbridge by focusing on the novel's two most prominent characters and their respective progressions over the course of the narrative. Michael Henchard’s hypermasculine behavior and eventual undoing is juxtaposed with Elizabeth-Jane’s active rejection of the male gaze, as well as her unique role as a proxy for the reader. In his 1886 novel, Hardy questions the legitimacy of gender expectations by acknowledging and subsequently undermining patriarchal traditions.