Women and men : love relationships in five of Elizabeth Madox Roberts' novels.

Elizabeth Madox Roberts, an American author of the early twentieth century, wrote five novels in which the protagonists are female: The Time of Man (1926), My Heart and My Flesh (1929), The Great Meadow (1930), He Sent Forth a Raven (1935), and Black Is My Truelove's Hair (1938). An important theme common to each of the novels is the heroine's growth toward a more complete awareness of self. Though each novel is unique, certain other broad similarities emerge through continued comparison. In each novel, the heroine experiences at least two relationships with men, at least one which is unsuccessful and one which is successful. The recurring pattern of unsuccessful followed by successful relationships with men is directly related to the theme of the woman's journey toward self-awareness. As recent psychological and sociological studies have shown, women in general tend to identify themselves through their relationships with others. Strong positive relationships contribute to a stronger sense of self in women; conversely, unsuccessful, damaging relationships hinder the development of positive self-identity. In these five novels of Elizabeth Madox Roberts, an examination of the love relationships, both unsuccessful and successful, also reveals the heroines' progression toward a more secure sense of self, of "I am." In Elizabeth Madox Roberts' novels, first-love relationships, whether ultimately successful or unsuccessful, occur in response to the woman's need for affiliation. The woman wants to merge with the man she loves in order to identify with him and to share in his experiences. When betrayal or abandonment occurs in the unsuccessful relationships, the woman's progress toward self-awareness is impeded as she must cope with separation and the pain and anger that is involved. However, these experiences ultimately lead to greater understanding and awareness of self which also contributes to the strength of the final successful-love relationships which are present by the end of each of the novels. Although Elizabeth Madox Roberts remains one of the lesser-known American authors, closer study of the love relationships in these novels and the contribution of the relationships to the heroines' journey toward self-knowledge reveals a further dimension to Roberts' work that has yet to be fully explored.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1990

Author dc:creator

• Baldinelli, Marla Stevens.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Leavell, Frank Hartwell, 1928-

• Roberts, Elizabeth Madox, 1881-1941 -- Criticism and interpretation.
• Self-realization in literature.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14442

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14442