In my thesis, I use a queer theoretical lens to consider three Victorian texts, Hesba Stretton’s “The Ghost in the Clock Room,” Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market,” and J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla. I apply queer theory to locate these authors’ attempts to destabilize heteronormativity by depicting non-normative gender roles, sexualities, and families in texts that emphasize the Victorian ideology of separate spheres. Many scholars imagine the separation of spheres as simply relegating women to a domestic sphere that reinforced traditional values and restricted their power. However, these works demonstrate that opportunities for power and queer possibility exist within the home and family, or so-called domestic sphere. This thesis seeks to locate and celebrate these queer and transgressive possibilities.
","abstract_html":"<p>In my thesis, I use a queer theoretical lens to consider three Victorian texts, Hesba Stretton’s “The Ghost in the Clock Room,” Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market,” and J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla. I apply queer theory to locate these authors’ attempts to destabilize heteronormativity by depicting non-normative gender roles, sexualities, and families in texts that emphasize the Victorian ideology of separate spheres. Many scholars imagine the separation of spheres as simply relegating women to a domestic sphere that reinforced traditional values and restricted their power. However, these works demonstrate that opportunities for power and queer possibility exist within the home and family, or so-called domestic sphere. This thesis seeks to locate and celebrate these queer and transgressive possibilities.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mihajlovic, Randi"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Katherine Malone"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:28:30Z","subjects":["Carmilla","Goblin Market","Hesba Stretton","queer theory","The Ghost in the Clock Room","Victorian family","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Literature in English, British Isles"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/974","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Katherine Malone"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mihajlovic, Randi"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-05-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Carmilla","Goblin Market","Hesba Stretton","queer theory","The Ghost in the Clock Room","Victorian family","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Literature in English, British Isles"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/974"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In my thesis, I use a queer theoretical lens to consider three Victorian texts, Hesba Stretton’s “The Ghost in the Clock Room,” Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market,” and J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla. I apply queer theory to locate these authors’ attempts to destabilize heteronormativity by depicting non-normative gender roles, sexualities, and families in texts that emphasize the Victorian ideology of separate spheres. Many scholars imagine the separation of spheres as simply relegating women to a domestic sphere that reinforced traditional values and restricted their power. However, these works demonstrate that opportunities for power and queer possibility exist within the home and family, or so-called domestic sphere. This thesis seeks to locate and celebrate these queer and transgressive possibilities.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Queering the Spheres: Non-Normative Gender, Sexuality, and Family in Three Victorian Texts"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Katherine Malone"],"dc:creator":["Mihajlovic, Randi"],"dc:date.available":["2016-05-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In my thesis, I use a queer theoretical lens to consider three Victorian texts, Hesba Stretton’s “The Ghost in the Clock Room,” Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market,” and J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla. I apply queer theory to locate these authors’ attempts to destabilize heteronormativity by depicting non-normative gender roles, sexualities, and families in texts that emphasize the Victorian ideology of separate spheres. Many scholars imagine the separation of spheres as simply relegating women to a domestic sphere that reinforced traditional values and restricted their power. However, these works demonstrate that opportunities for power and queer possibility exist within the home and family, or so-called domestic sphere. This thesis seeks to locate and celebrate these queer and transgressive possibilities.
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