Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Martin, Thomas L.

Abstract

In my thesis, I examine the function and treatment of goddesses in six modern feminist mythopoeic fantasy novels by Y olen, Shinn, and Harris. In these novels, the goddesses and their worshippers serve as the agents of socio-political change within the secondary world, inducing changes that end with the ultimate transformation of oppressive social structures. Acknowledging these goddesses and incorporating them into the fabric of communal life, the protagonists, and ultimately entire societies, are able transcend issues of gender, race, ethnicity, class, and religion, in order to create a peaceful and prosperous society. These novels work through many of the issues troubling modern day feminist theorists and make important contributions to the discourse of feminist spirituality and feminist theory as a whole. Extrapolating both a theory and praxis from the texture of these fantasy narratives, I suggest that these stories offer a way to transcend dichotomous thinking and escape the current stagnation of spirituality based approaches to feminism.

Extent

80 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FA00000968

Format

pdf

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