English Literature
Doctor of Philosophy
| Level | Doctor of Philosophy |
|---|---|
| Student | Katie BARNES |
| Status | Current |
| Part Time | No |
| Years | 2021 |
| Project Title | Rewriting the Irish Mother Figure: Dismantling Stereotypes of Motherhood and Maternity in Contemporary Irish Literature |
| Project Description | This thesis will argue that contemporary Irish women’s literature challenges traditional tropes of motherhood and reframes the Irish mother as a multidimensional figure who is separate from both the church and state. Drawing upon a range of theoretical perspectives but with a focus on feminism, the thesis will argue that the multifaceted representations of motherhood found in contemporary literature are representative of a broader, more inclusive attitude towards motherhood in modern Irish society. It will contend that traditional ideals of ‘good mothering’ found in literature are challenged by political progressions in feminism such as the Repeal the Eighth movement and the Creasy-McGinn Amendment, which have led to significant changes in how motherhood and maternity are addressed and represented within the contemporary literary canon. It will build upon critical work by Gerardine Meaney, Patricia Kennedy, and Mary Ryan to assert that, in some representations, the figure of the suffering mother has been developed in twenty-first-century literature into a figure who is also capable of inflicting suffering onto others. It will interrogate the disjuncture between the veneration of the mother figure and the lived experiences of maternity, which has a shameful place in Ireland’s recent history by analysing a broad range of motherhood experiences and their representations within literature. It will analyse novels, short stories, memoir, and experimental hybrid writing to establish how motherhood is theorised and represented as a challenge to the traditional figure of the Irish mother who remains a stalwart of Irish culture and society. This thesis will clearly demonstrate that representations of motherhood and maternity found in contemporary Irish literature are more nuanced than previously theorised and offer innovative readings of this new canon of complex texts. |
| Awarding Institution | - The University of Salford |
| Director of Studies | Caroline Magennis |
| Second Supervisor | Carson Bergstrom |