Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

Spring 5-17-2013

School/College

College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences (COLABS)

Degree Name

MA in English

First Advisor

Professor Michael David Sollars

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine Joseph Conrad's and William Faulkner's portrayal of women in their works. The project looks at representative works from both authors, specifically Heart of Darkness and Absalom, Absalom! Other works will be given mention as well. How female characters are handled and depicted by the Modern writers is the main focus of this research. The British work Heart of Darkness is well-known, and includes its five unnamed and outsider female characters-Marlow's aunt, two knitting women, Kurtz' African mistress, and Kurtz' intended-and has been criticized severely by feminist scholars for the novel's patriarchal impression. In the American work Absalom, Absalom!, more women take a wider role, but Faulkner focuses mainly on five key women-Ellen Coldfield, Rosa Coldfield, Judith Sutpen, Clytemnestra (Clytie) Sutpen, and Thomas Sutpen � s Haitian wife Eulai lia Bon. 2 Faulkner's portrayal of women has not impressed the feminist scholars as well. Leading scholars of both Conrad and Faulkner are to be included. This research approaches the female character of both works from critical multidirectional perspectives; the power and weaknesses given to women in the Modem era by the male authors are examined and challenged, closely throughout the thesis project

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