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Title:	Gender, ethnicity, and class : shades of alterity in the selected novels of Jean Rhys
Authors:	Faja Hiba Meteab (P88642)
Supervisor:	Ruzy Suliza Hashim, Prof. Datin Dr.
Keywords:	Rhys Jean -- Criticism and interpretation Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia -- Dissertations Dissertations, Academic -- Malaysia
Issue Date:	2-Apr-2021
Description:	This thesis is an examination of Jean Rhys' selected novels. She was born in Dominica but spent most of her adult life in Britain; her unique life history which is a combination of English and Caribbean landscapes produces literary works that highlight the predicaments of women and men caught in their life circumstances marked by personal, social and economic differences. Scholarship on Rhys skews towards gender and psychological perspectives; the intersection between gender, ethnicity and class, however, remains a research gap that needs to be addressed. Rhys' isolation, existentialist worldview, and complex subjectivity are manifested in her novels specifically via her characters through their complicated lives foregrounded by gender, ethnic, political and socio-economic circumstances. These negotiations can be best understood from the perspectives of alterity including that of gender, ethnicity, politics and socio-economy which can further elucidate the realities of Rhys' characters. The objectives of the research are to examine the forms of alterity experienced by Rhys' characters, to categorize the reasons and effects of these forms in relation to gender, ethnic, political and socio-economic alterity, and to interpret the subjectivity of Rhys and her characters from the larger conception of migration and identity. Three novels that represent Rhys' writing life have been chosen for this purpose namely Quartet, Voyage in the Dark, and Wide Sargasso Sea all of which succinctly tell of protagonists who are mistreated and rootless. The framework is premised on the constructs of parameters and context drawn from postcolonial theorizing. The first analytical chapter will scrutinize the context which brings to the fore three parameters - patriarchy, sexism, and victimization as important facets in each novel. The second analytical chapter will focus on context which illuminates the differences related to gender, ethnic, political and socio-economic alterity which in turn bring about alienation, racism, and creolization. By looking at the novels chronologically via the two constructs, the protagonists' scales of experiences that reveal shades of alterity are made overt. The findings show that social rejection is accompanied by self-reaction that translates into tragic consequences– including loneliness, abandonment, madness, and death of all the heroines. The implication of this study can be applied to contemporary novels where similar issues of differences, social rejection and identity form the crux of literary contemplations.,Ph.D
Pages:	237
Call Number:	PR6035.H96F335 2021 tesis
Publisher:	UKM, Bangi
Appears in Collections:	Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan

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