HANNAH ENGLAND'S PORTFOLIO
scapegoats for dissatisfaction: Exploring the demonisation of women in literature
The dissertation for my MA in English Literature, focusing on the concept of female villainy in, specifically, male-written or male-centric literature, and the key themes and motifs that occur throughout. A notable reference is made in this body of work to the way this trend transcends time and genre, to create a concept that is longitudinal and continuous.
Introduction
I Will Not Lie Below: A Cultural Introduction to Female Villainy
An excerpt of the introductory segment of this dissertation, which discusses early cultural/religious references to female villainy and the way they are portrayed as leading men to dispair
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Chapter 1
Listen to Me and Learn from Me: On Complexes, the Mother Figure, and Her Role in the Perpetuation of Female Villainy
An excerpt from the first chapter of this dissertation, discussing the role the mother figure often plays within fiction, and the fascination some male authors have regarding their mothers and/or mother figures. Especially regarding her links to villainy/immorality.
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Chapter 2
Tasting the Whip: The Polarisation of The ‘Virgin’ and the ‘Whore’ in the works of Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch and the Marquis de Sade.
An excerpt of the second chapter of this dissertation which explores the way two authors depict women within the archetypes of 'the virgin' and 'the whore' and the ways in which they are cast in a villainous light regardless of which role they are placed in.
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Chapter 3
On Vampirism and the Femme Fatale in Literature
An excerpt of the third chapter of this dissertation, which discusses the archetype of the femme fatale and the occurrence of female vampires as harbingers of sin and destruction to classic morality.
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