Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1989

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Coyle, William

Abstract

Ellen Glasgow's feminism is revealed in her fiction, especially through her characterization of women. In four representative novels, Glasgow's female characters underscore the problems of women--from the womanly woman of the Victorian era to the new woman of the twentieth century. In Virginia, Virginia Pendleton is the product of an education that teaches her to be a dutiful wife and mother yet neglects her personal growth. In The Sheltered Life, Eva Birdsong is a victim of the myth of Southern Womanhood and its unrealistic expectations. Glasgow also attempts to show that character is fate, and women can turn to their inner resources to solve their problems. Thus Dorinda Oakley of Barren Ground enters the man's world of farming, and Ada Fincastle of Vein of Iron relies on her inherited fortitude to triumph over personal disappointments and the forces of social change. In these novels, Glasgow exposes the conservative educational, religious, and social influences that impinge on the development of women as total human beings. Ellen Glasgow's contribution to the feminist movement lies in her commitment to what she called women's "liberation of personality."

Extent

84 p.

Comments

FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1989.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Identifier

FADT14527

Format

pdf

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