Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Strong-Minded Woman Figures In A Time Of Crisis : Maria Stuart, Penthesilea, Sappho, Inger M. Olsen

Dissertations and Theses

The strong-minded woman as a character capable of genuine self-determination has not received nearly as much literary attention and study as the less psychologically and socially aware sublime woman, the innocent woman, and the femme fatale. Consequently, the strong-minded woman is only an occasional literary phenomenon and is absent entirely during some literary periods.

Thus the purpose of this thesis is to establish that the strong-minded woman exists as a literary figure, that she is a fully developed character capable of forming meaningful and even traditional relationships when allowed by circumstances. She is capable of relying on her own abilities …