Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Cult of domesticity (2)
- Ahmed (1)
- Catholic (1)
- Children's literature (1)
- Ethnicity (1)
-
- Feminine nature (1)
- Feminism (1)
- Feminist Political Theory (1)
- Feminist Theory (1)
- Firestone (1)
- Freudianism (1)
- Gender Studies (1)
- Happiness (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Little Women (1)
- Nuns (1)
- Political Theory (1)
- Psychotherapy (1)
- Right to Pursuit of Happiness (1)
- Sisters of Charity (1)
- Sisters of Mercy (1)
- United States of America (1)
- Women religious (1)
- Women's literature (1)
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in American Studies
Little Cricket On The Hearth: The Quiet Feminism Of _Little Women_, Caroline Anderson Klein
Little Cricket On The Hearth: The Quiet Feminism Of _Little Women_, Caroline Anderson Klein
Honors Theses
Since the advent of the cult of domesticity, the stakes for female characters in domestic literature have been notoriously high. There was no room for flaws, rebellious decisions, and certainly no room for mistakes—whether of the woman’s own accord, or simply as collateral damage of a male character’s immorality. In this shallowly Calvinist domain, women were never more than one broken guardrail away from social ruin or death. In writing Little Women, Louisa May Alcott breaks these molds through unflinching kindness to her female characters from childhood to adulthood, even unto death. Alcott achieves this quietly feminist feat by …
Ethnicity And “Women Religious”: How Irish-American And Other Ethnic Nuns Were Presented In American Newspapers From 1865 To 1915, Lydia Hursh
Honors Theses
While Catholicism in America has had a turbulent history of mixed rejection and acceptance, the American Catholic Church prior to World War One was not considered a monolithic institution by the American clergy or in certain contexts by the American press. Women religious, such as nuns, were considered unnatural and malevolent at the worst, although this characterization in popular opinion declined after the Civil War, to unusual but benevolent at the best. Moreover, ethnicity was a determining factor among male authors for where on the sliding-scale of social alienation a nun or her convent might fall, although the degree of …
What Do Women Want? The Feminist Pursuit Of Happiness, Hannah Ruth Ellen
What Do Women Want? The Feminist Pursuit Of Happiness, Hannah Ruth Ellen
Honors Theses
“What do Women Want?” My thesis asks whether women can genuinely seek freedom while also hoping for happiness. I look closely at how male theorists define happiness and liberty for themselves and for others, and in particular for feminized others. My two central chapters focus on theories of individual happiness, happiness sought through another or others, and the ways feminist thinkers reimagine happiness in relationship to women’s freedom. I apply feminist critiques to the concept of psychodynamic therapy as an anti-revolutionary tool designed to isolate and silence women into believing that coping with oppression is equivalent to genuine happiness. I …
The Chopinian Heroine: A Role Model For The Self-Assertion Of Women, Heidi Fite
The Chopinian Heroine: A Role Model For The Self-Assertion Of Women, Heidi Fite
Honors Theses
During the nineteenth century in America, women endured many restraints placed on them by society. These social restraints were often justified in the name of chivalry and the Bible. Fundamentalist religion, with its patriarchal nature and its strict moral code, hampered women's struggle for rights. The religious and social condemnation of divorce forced many women, rather than incurring the chastisement of society by seeking divorce from drunken and worthless husbands, to spend their lives in martyrdom. Most women also resented the limitations the chivalric code imposed on the full development of their minds and personalities. This code of chivalry led …