• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Massey Documents by Type
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Massey Documents by Type
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Equal others : the erotic as the site of power : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Creative Writing at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand.

    Icon
    View/Open Full Text
    01_front.pdf (69.18Kb)
    02_whole.pdf (502.8Kb)
    Export to EndNote
    Abstract
    This thesis comprises two sections: a critical research essay focusing on Joy Cowley's 1970 novel Man of Straw and the first 30,000 words of an original adult novel entitled A Fine Piece. In both sections, I undertake an exploration of the role of the transgressive erotic scene. In the creative portion of my thesis, transgressive erotic scenes are central to the narrative. The implications of the erotic transgression are central to the advancement of the plot and the development of thematic elements of gender, power, sexuality, romance and nature. A Fine Piece traces the effects of betrayal on a family and the role of the erotic in maintaining social conventions in 1960s New Zealand. In the critical portion of the thesis I investigate the impact of Eros and the desire for unity in Cowley’s Man of Straw. Using the lens of G. W. F. Hegel’s dialectic of recognition, I argue that deep unity and recognition between characters in the novel are largely held in check by the social constraints of 1960s New Zealand. True and mutual unity, then, does not arise merely from physical union but from an ethical decision to consciously value and recognize another person. When the erotic leads to union without this ethical component it occurs in the form of a transgressive act with far-reaching and even fatal implications. I also examine the ways in which Cowley depicts the relationship of characters with the natural world as an indictment against a society that has become increasingly unnatural.
    Date
    2012
    Author
    Sullivan, Jillian Ruth
    Rights
    The Author
    Publisher
    Massey University
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10179/4169
    Collections
    • Theses and Dissertations
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Copyright © Massey University
    Contact Us | Send Feedback | Copyright Take Down Request | Massey University Privacy Statement
    DSpace software copyright © Duraspace
    v5.7-2020.1
     

     

    Tweets by @Massey_Research
    Information PagesContent PolicyDepositing content to MROCopyright and Access InformationDeposit LicenseDeposit License SummaryTheses FAQFile FormatsDoctoral Thesis Deposit

    Browse

    All of MROCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Copyright © Massey University
    Contact Us | Send Feedback | Copyright Take Down Request | Massey University Privacy Statement
    DSpace software copyright © Duraspace
    v5.7-2020.1