Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Abstract

This project explores the use if illegitimacy within Western discourse over the last three centuries. Illegitimacy was used in Victorian literature as a literary device to drive plot but evolved into a touchstone for Western discourse to explore the bounds of what is considered respectable society. Over time, as illegitimacy has become more mainstream, I contend illegitimate identities have been utilized to serve as a mirror for Western hegemony. In the first chapter, I explore the origins of illegitimacy being used as a literary device in novels by Victorian authors Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. In the second chapter, I examine the role illegitimacy plays in the origin stories of canonical comic book superheroes Batman and Superman. Lastly, in the third chapter, I scrutinize the role illegitimacy plays in defining the human condition within science fiction as human culture continues to advance technologically towards a post human world.

Extent

vi, 64 p.

Comments

by Ryan Dessler.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012.|Includes bibliography.|Mode of access: World Wide Web.|System requirements: Adobe Reader.|by Ryan Dessler.

Identifier

FADT3355567

Format

pdf

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