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dc.contributor.authorDeller, Sarah Elizabeth
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-15T14:59:49Z
dc.date.available2018-10-15T14:59:49Z
dc.date.issued2018-10-15T14:59:49Z
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10222/74312
dc.description.abstractThis thesis identifies and interrogates the two most prevalent tropes assigned to Aphra Behn and Katherine Philips as feminist scholars reclaimed and canonized the poets. I ask what perceptions of women have informed our selection of women for the canon. Chapter One, “Pioneers,” criticizes depictions of Behn and Philips as the “first” women to achieve various professional accomplishments within a patriarchy. This trope grants legitimacy to oppressive power structures. Chapter Two, “The Virgin / Whore Dichotomy,” examines the frequent comparison of the sexuality of Behn and Philips. This comparison unduly emphasizes women’s sexuality, and positions Behn –– the “whore” –– and Philips –– the “virgin” –– on either side of a misogynistic false dichotomy. An exploration of these tropes reveals the feminist reclamation and canonization of Behn and Philips rely upon narrow and restrictive ideas of gender and sexuality that, far from liberating these writers, limits discussion of their work and perpetuates patriarchal values.en_US
dc.subjectfeminismen_US
dc.subjectsecond-wave feminismen_US
dc.subjectearly modern women writersen_US
dc.subjectBehn, Aphra, 1640-1689en_US
dc.subjectPhilips, Katherine, 1631-1664en_US
dc.subjectFeminist literature--Historyen_US
dc.subjectsexualityen_US
dc.subjectvirgin whore dichotomyen_US
dc.subjectpioneeren_US
dc.subjectcanonen_US
dc.subjectcanonizationen_US
dc.titlePioneers, Virgins, and Whores: (Anti-)Feminist Tropes in the Feminist Reclamation of Aphra Behn and Katherine Philipsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.date.defence2017-08-31
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Englishen_US
dc.contributor.degreeMaster of Artsen_US
dc.contributor.external-examinern/aen_US
dc.contributor.graduate-coordinatorAlice Brittanen_US
dc.contributor.thesis-readerChristina Luckyjen_US
dc.contributor.thesis-readerJulia M. Wrighten_US
dc.contributor.thesis-supervisorTrevor Rossen_US
dc.contributor.ethics-approvalNot Applicableen_US
dc.contributor.manuscriptsNot Applicableen_US
dc.contributor.copyright-releaseNot Applicableen_US
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