Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
30072511
Author
Stumpf, Chris-Anne,1960-
Title
Alexander Pope's response to eighteenth century constructions of female character.
Degree
M.A. -- University of Windsor, 1992
Publisher
Ottawa : National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1993.
Description
2 microfiches.
Notes
University Microfilms order no. UMI00399186.
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
Although in his major poems about women Pope appears to be reinforcing both his society's attitudes towards women and the conventions that males in his society used to construct female character, in actuality he is not. Rather, Pope critiques his society's acceptance of conventions, such as those that make up the rhetoric of courtship, which result in the subordination of women and the trivializing of their worth. Pope does this by reiterating and then subverting the accepted cliches and conventions that surround women in order to critique them. In order to understand the role of women in Pope's society and what Pope's attitudes towards women were this study examines Pope's place within his society, the role of upper and middle-class women in his society, his relationships with women and his correspondence to and about them. Then, I will illustrate how Pope used conventions and forms such as the rhetoric of courtship, the epistle, and the mock-epic to challenge his society's views about women and women's views about themselves. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
ISBN
0315789069
9780315789067