The representation of women in the novels of Gregorios Xenopoulos

Hadjitheodorou, Maria (2010). The representation of women in the novels of Gregorios Xenopoulos. University of Birmingham. M.Phil.

[img]
Preview
Hadjitheodorou_10_Mphil.pdf
PDF

Download (688kB)

Abstract

The present study aims to explore the position of women and their role in the domestic and public realm as presented by the Greek prose writer Gregorios Xenopoulos (1867-1951). The study will be divided into two chapters. In the first chapter, after having discussed the social context of the last quarter of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, I will examine and analyze women’s position in Greek society as presented in Xenopoulos’s novels, with special emphasis on the impact of the feminist movement on marriage and motherhood, education and work. Also, there will be a comparison of the Athenian and Zakynthian novels. In the second chapter, I intend to analyze the presentation of the physical appearance of female characters regarding facial and other physical characteristics, looking also at dress and hairstyles. I will then comment on the way their behavioural patterns are presented and finally, there will be a general, rather brief, survey of the most popular female types encountered in Xenopoulos’s novels. This exploration will lead to the conclusion that, although Xenopoulos was writing at a time when women had a secondary role in society, by being his major characters, they are given the importance and respect they deserve to have in society. Thus he can be considered one of the few male supporters of the feminist movement that emerged during the first decade of the twentieth century and one of the first among the minority to applaud women’s efforts to achieve emancipation.

Type of Work: Thesis (Masters by Research > M.Phil.)
Award Type: Masters by Research > M.Phil.
Supervisor(s):
Supervisor(s)EmailORCID
Tziovas, DimitrisUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Licence:
College/Faculty: Colleges (2008 onwards) > College of Arts & Law
School or Department: School of History and Cultures, Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology (CAHA)
Funders: None/not applicable
Subjects: D History General and Old World > DF Greece
URI: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/958

Actions

Request a Correction Request a Correction
View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year