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Beyond monster and maiden: Emancipating female characters in the Australian gothic

2024
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Thesis / Dissertation Description

‘Beyond Monster and Maiden’ is comprised of two original short stories and an exegetical critical essay. This thesis explores the use of creative writing to subvert the Australian gothic’s conventional representation of women as disempowered. The fictional narratives, ‘Wild’ and ‘The Whalers’ Tunnel’, employ generic conventions to establish the texts as Australian gothic narratives whilst featuring female characters who challenge patriarchal ideology’s centrality within the genre. ‘Wild’ is located within the colonial Australian gothic and destabilises the subjugating persecuted maiden stereotype. ‘The Whalers’ Tunnel’ is situated within the coastal Australian gothic and disturbs the vilifying character trope of the monstrous feminine. ‘Beyond Monster and Maiden’s’ short stories seek to usurp patriarchy’s prominence within the Australian gothic through championing female empowerment within the genre in the hope of speaking to women’s subordinate position in Australia’s patriarchal culture and advocating for productive change. The fictional narratives of ‘Beyond Monster and Maiden’ are contextualised through the accompanying critical essay and exegesis. The Australian gothic’s misogynistic history of subjugating and vilifying female characters is delineated and the continuing subordination of Australian women is outlined, pointing toward the author’s need to liberate women, fabricated and real, from patriarchy’s clutches. The exegetical critical essay explores how ‘Beyond Monster and Maiden’ implemented a feminist literary criticism theoretical perspective and practice-led research methodology, framing this thesis within a comprehensive creative writing process. The application of Kristeva’s the abject and Freud’s the uncanny as subversive feminist tools is demonstrated, showcasing the psychoanalytic theories’ abilities to disturb Australian gothic’s habitual depiction of female characters as either the persecuted maiden or the monstrous feminine. Academic and creative works are cited and analysed alongside ‘Beyond Monster and Maiden’s’ short stories, to position the works within Australian gothic’s extensive canon of literature and the knowledge gap of empowered Australian gothic female characters.

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