Date of Graduation
5-2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in English (MA)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
English
Advisor/Mentor
M. Keith Booker
Committee Member
Robin Roberts
Second Committee Member
Sean Dempsey
Third Committee Member
Sean Connors
Keywords
Language, Literature and linguistics, Lewis Carroll, Neil Gaiman, John Tenniel, Graphic novels, Humor, Madness
Abstract
Mad female characters in Western literature have traditionally represented attempts by dominant patriarchal discourse to subjugate women’s discourse: these characters are usually pathologized in both their dialogue with other characters and in their physical bodies. This subjugation by representation of mad female characters in dominant discourse parallels similar attempts to portray women as lacking in humor. This thesis studies the intersections between madness and humor and the ability of female characters that embody both to challenge and subvert dominant discourse. By examining the characters of Alice from Lewis Carroll’s novel and Delirium from Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel series The Sandman as a progression of these ideas, this thesis seeks to show how these characters challenge readers’ schemata concerning madness and humor.
Citation
Swehla, T. S. (2017). The Two-Sided Coin: Madness and Laughter as Subversion in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Sandman. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1941
Included in
American Literature Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Women's Studies Commons