The madam is mad: madness as kairos, ur-time, and lesbian space in Gilman, Plath, and Millett
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Joanne Galli (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Danielle Bouchard
Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is tracking the evolution of psychiatric medicine and
psychotherapy as they relate to women’s writings. Three genres of literature are evaluated during three chronologic time periods. The correlations to mental health care during these times are matched to written genres. The study utilizes several methodologies in approaching the literary works: queer, rhetorical, feminist, poststructuralism, and narrative theories form the majority of the critique. The multidisciplinary readings ensure a more complete appreciation for the palindromes of declamation.
Madness functions as a sign and signifier of disruptive times. Madness is not representative of “crazy” or “angry.” Madness is the brief spark marking kairos, ur-time, and lesbian space within the works of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Sylvia Plath, and Kate Millett. I chose three middle-class white women in an effort to provide a more equal comparison. Each chapter focuses on an author and the genre utilized. Each chapter
undergoes variation in the predominate methodology for critique. A very close reading allows us to ferret out the fissured spaces where madness resides. The objective exists in the ability to delve into these spaces and see how the
writers generated and disrupted time. In conclusion, one may surmise a multi-disciplinary
approach elucidates the importance of re/visiting these works. Through re/reading these works through multi-dimensional lenses, we gain a closer understanding of what madness lives inside various narratives and what we can learn from re/positioning ourselves within the works.
The madam is mad: madness as kairos, ur-time, and lesbian space in Gilman, Plath, and Millett
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Created on 5/1/2013
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2013
- Keywords
- Gilman, Kairos, Lesbian, Millett, Plath, Ur-time
- Subjects
- Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, $d 1860-1935 $x Criticism and interpretation
- Millett, Kate $x Criticism and interpretation
- Plath, Sylvia $x Criticism and interpretation
- Women $x Mental health $z United States $x History
- Literature and mental illness
- Mental illness in literature