Date of Award
6-1-2012
Document Type
Campus Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Cheryl Nixon
Second Advisor
Louise Penner
Third Advisor
Betsy Kilmasmith
Abstract
The relationship of mothers and daughters in the three novels were examined. Two questions were examined 1) how much power does a mother hold over the moral construct and future of her daughter and 2) how did the respective female authors examine and illustrate these relationships and this power? Historical and critical sources were used to explore whether or not mothers held absolute power over the future of their daughters and, if their power was not absolute, how much power and influence did they hold. Societal constructs for women at the time were examined as well as societal beliefs. The maternal relationships in each of the novels were examined in the framework of these constructs to see how each female author chose to illustrate the power and influence of the mother over the daughter as well as the societal constraints faced by women at the time. My research shows that while the female authors did not ultimately support the theory of absolute maternal responsibility, to various degrees they did support the idea of significant maternal responsibility and power of the daughter's future. I also show that each author believed that societal beliefs and constructs of the time also held great power and influence over a woman's future, and that in many ways women were held in subservience by society, and this subservience was passed from mother to daughter.
Recommended Citation
McLaughlin, Keriann, "Maternal Responsibility: An Examination of the Relationship between Mothers and Daughters in Maria: The Wrongs of Women, Zofloya, and Jane Eyre" (2012). Graduate Masters Theses. 108.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/masters_theses/108
Comments
Free and open access to this Campus Access Thesis is made available to the UMass Boston community by ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this thesis through resources like Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global or through Interlibrary Loan. If you have a UMass Boston campus username and password and would like to download this work from off-campus, click on the "Off-Campus UMass Boston Users" link above.