English Language and Literature (Theses)https://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/802024-03-28T12:38:35Z2024-03-28T12:38:35ZQueer ecofeminism: from binary feminist environmental endeavours to postgender pursuitshttps://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/31742023-11-04T03:02:33Z2023-11-03T00:00:00ZQueer ecofeminism: from binary feminist environmental endeavours to postgender pursuits
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Ecofeminism: Inception; Development and Challenges
Chapter 2: On De-Essentialising Ecofeminism
Chapter 3: Gendered Climate Politics: Between the Far Right and Social Justice
Chapter 4: Queering Ecofeminism: Challenging Heteronormative Far-Right Politics
Chapter 5: Post-Gender Semiotics
Conclusion
References
2023-11-03T00:00:00Z‘Trying to draw a map of a child’s mind’: a study of the influence of childhood experience on the literary works of J. M. Barrie through a Freudian lenshttps://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/31702023-10-28T02:01:16Z2023-10-27T00:00:00Z‘Trying to draw a map of a child’s mind’: a study of the influence of childhood experience on the literary works of J. M. Barrie through a Freudian lens
This project aims to investigate what lies beneath the surface of J. M. Barrie’s work, from his representation of fictional characters to his subtle references to perplexing themes in his diary entries and factual recollections of his childhood. Through the use of Sigmund Freud’s theories, the thesis will trace strong, but often occluded, connections between Barrie’s repressed early childhood experiences, and some of the characters that he created in some of his early books Better Dead, Sentimental Tommy, Tommy and Grizel, The Little White Bird, and his memoir Margaret Ogilvy, and of course, in Peter Pan, where the timeless child is juxtaposed with children who are growing into adulthood. In doing so, this reading will allow for an analysis of the repressed elements of Barrie’s life, allowing them to be seen more clearly, which will enhance the significance behind his story-telling.
There are several of Freud’s theories that occur in Barrie’s texts, from the use of flight to the inherent instincts that drive us towards life or death. One of the most compelling, perhaps, is the use of dreams in Peter Pan. Freudian studies suggest that the ego’s defences are lowered whilst we dream, therefore, our repressed feelings float to the surface, allowing an insight into how the unconscious mind works. Peter Pan appears to Wendy through her dreams, suggesting that Peter is an illusion of repressed desired feelings. Although dream analysis can be examined in the fantastical tale of Peter Pan, looking at the fictional novel in contrast to some of Barrie’s texts that are rooted in reality, allows a clear distinction to be drawn between dreams that occur in childhood and those that the adult characters experience. This interlinks with the core conclusion of this thesis, that Peter is the result of Barrie’s repressed desire to relive his childhood and return to a state of heightened consciousness. As Kavey and Friedman explain, Peter is a representation of ‘the most appealing aspects of childhood,’ with the most envious trait being his lack of memory (Kavey & Friedman, 2009, p. 10).
Furthermore, whilst the occurrence of dreams provides a foundation for this thesis, the stages of psychosexual development also provide essential information by giving an insight to the reason why Barrie described Peter Pan as the villain of the text. By remaining a child forever, Peter Pan cannot complete the five stages of sexual development; oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital (Freud & Strachey, 2000, p. 7), which is believed to be detrimental to the human psyche. Peter will forever live as a child, which means he will never reach maturity. Thus, this project will examine this idea of immaturity, and Barrie’s depiction of the impacts caused by the failure to surpass childhood naivety, ultimately concluding that typical villainous traits such as immaturity, selfishness and impulsivity may impact others, but the full extent of consequences fail to affect someone whose conscience will never develop.
2023-10-27T00:00:00ZA literary and cultural analysis of the mistreatment of women portrayed in the works of female Irish writers and critical social events in Ireland 1984-2022https://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/31682023-10-26T02:01:01Z2023-10-25T00:00:00ZA literary and cultural analysis of the mistreatment of women portrayed in the works of female Irish writers and critical social events in Ireland 1984-2022
This thesis examines the treatment of women in Irish society through a cultural and literary
approach.
The analysis includes a variety of literature dating from 1936 to 2015. The authors
discussed are all female: Teresa Deevy, Rosaleen McDonagh, Kimberley Campanello, and
Louise O’Neill. They are examined in chronological order while also exploring the cultural
context of the time period in which the works were published. It also looks at the historical
narratives of Ann Lovett, Joanne Hayes and the Belfast and Cork rape trials.
Each cultural discussion focuses on women’s lives and the challenges present for them
at this time. Feminist theory is a lens through which the literature is explored, including theorists
such as Luce Irigaray, Simone de Beauvoir, Julia Kristeva and Hélène Cixous. These feminist
theorists offer an ongoing explorative critique of traditional, and patriarchal, values present in
Irish culture, regarding women in particular.
The impact of the Catholic Church on Irish society at this time is woven into the
discourse throughout the thesis, along with themes such as reproduction, racism, specifically of
those in the Traveller community, and ableism that are present in some of the works, therefore
depicting Irish society. The combination of theory, fictional representations and historical
events within the context of a patriarchal Irish society allows for a rich examination of the
mistreatment of women in Ireland. The thesis highlights the development of women’s position
in Irish society over eighty years and while there has been slow progress, the examination shows
that total equality has not yet been reached.
2023-10-25T00:00:00ZConstitutionally codified, the myth of the maternal in the national imaginaryhttps://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/31672023-10-26T02:00:33Z2023-10-25T00:00:00ZConstitutionally codified, the myth of the maternal in the national imaginary
This thesis will address Article 41.2 of the Constitution to examine how it affected Irish women for the succeeding eighty years. It will draw from De Valera’s ideology of nation building in 1937, which situated women in the private realm of the home. It will examine the special position afforded to the Catholic Church that wedded the function of women to a biological one of purity and sacrifice. Analysing a longitudinal selection of short stories from four different authors, their identifiable set of characteristics will convey a complete treatment of a subject. These subjects seek to question the symbolisation of women by an autocracy that enshrined their domestic position constitutionally.
The analyses will employ the lens of literary critic and philosopher Julia Kristeva to appraise the role of motherhood and support a better understanding of their lived experience. Irish women and girls historically carried a disproportionate share of caring responsibilities, that left them discriminated against at home and in the workplace. Her philosophy of abjection responds to the way the selected authors narrated their female marginalisation, objectification and latterly racism, which features in the more contemporary texts. This aligns with her theory that posits females as subjects-in-process who can actively advance their social progress. The final topic concerns the recent Citizen’s Assembly on gender equality exampling such progress. Chaired by Dr Catherine Day, the findings concluded the need for a referendum to remove or reword Article 41.2 from the Constitution and replace it with non-gender specific language, that simultaneously includes protection of non-marital families.
2023-10-25T00:00:00Z