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Department of English Language and Literature

A woman of letters : an examination of the character of Margaret Paston through a selective reading of Paston letters and papers of the fifteenth century

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The study examines the character of Margaret Paston through a selective reading of Paston Letters and Papers of the fifteenth century. Consideration is given to the problems posed by the letter form, to the identification of an authentic "voice" in the letters of a woman who was probably unable to write, and to the constraints of an incomplete historical record. Margaret is viewed by means of her own words and her relationships with her immediate and extended family, and in the light of the social and political circumstances of the time. It is concluded that by examining Margaret in this way, there is sufficient material in the epistolary record to make an assessment of her character.

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor dc:publisher.institution
Department of English Language and Literature
Year dc:date.issued
1993

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Purvis, Rosemary
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Lee, Brian

Rights

Language dc:language.iso
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18831
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/18831

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Cape Town
Base URL
open.uct.ac.za/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Purvis, Rosemary. A woman of letters : an examination of the character of Margaret Paston through a selective reading of Paston letters and papers of the fifteenth century. Department of English Language and Literature, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18831