Department of English

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Browsing Department of English by Author "Bernhardt, Lara Catherine"

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    The fantasy of female sexual freedom in Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and in John Logan's Penny Dreadful.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Bernhardt, Lara Catherine; Oppelt, Riaan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite considerable investigation into the nature of female sexuality and the manner in which it has been portrayed over the years, debate remains regarding what is acceptable and what is not. Furthermore, the manner in which it may be explored in a constructive manner is disputed. This thesis aims to use Angela Carter’s The Sadeian Woman and her analysis of the work of the Marquis de Sade to understand not only the possibly perverse nature of female sexuality, but also how pornography has the potential to expose gender inequality and provide a new space for female liberatory sexual practices. Furthermore, noting the similarities between the structure and potentially subversive elements of the pornographic text and folk tales, I analyse selected texts from Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, primarily through the lens of the sexual subject positions of the female protagonists and how sexual initiation and desire play a central role in significant character development. The Penny Dreadful television series is explored by noting the extensive relationship depicted between female sexuality and the otherworldly. Firstly, as remnants of the debate regarding the depiction of female sexuality in literature, the substantial dissonance regarding the role that television may play in this regard is analysed. Furthermore, in keeping with the substantial effect of revisionist myth-making, the significance of the intertextual and Gothic elements of the Penny Dreadful series is examined.