This paper examines the work of Jane Bowles, especially her novel Two Serious Ladies and long short story 'Camp Cataract,' as she demonstrates models of relationality. Using affect theory, this paper explores the way that Bowles's work may offer theories of relationality, in which the self and other function via processes of reading and inscription. These models work as criticisms or investigations of relational practices; however, more interestingly, the formal elements of Bowles's work, her poetic, aesthetic, and metafictional choices, demonstrate a relationship between reader and text that likewise operates along inscriptive and hermeneutic practices. This suggests not a fatalistic or stabilized portrait of relationality, but one in which there is room for change and adaptation--potentially changes that might have significant effects on the way that we consider identity.
","abstract_html":"<p>This paper examines the work of Jane Bowles, especially her novel Two Serious Ladies and long short story 'Camp Cataract,' as she demonstrates models of relationality. Using affect theory, this paper explores the way that Bowles's work may offer theories of relationality, in which the self and other function via processes of reading and inscription. These models work as criticisms or investigations of relational practices; however, more interestingly, the formal elements of Bowles's work, her poetic, aesthetic, and metafictional choices, demonstrate a relationship between reader and text that likewise operates along inscriptive and hermeneutic practices. This suggests not a fatalistic or stabilized portrait of relationality, but one in which there is room for change and adaptation--potentially changes that might have significant effects on the way that we consider identity.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Carroll, Rachel Jane"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Campus Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"English Language and Literatures","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Catherine Keyser"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:38:23Z","subjects":["Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature","affect theory","Camp Cataract","hermeneutics","Jane Bowles","relationality","Two Serious Ladies"],"languages":[],"rights":["© 2012, Rachel Jane Carroll"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1054","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Catherine Keyser"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Carroll, Rachel Jane"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English Language and Literatures"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature","affect theory","Camp Cataract","hermeneutics","Jane Bowles","relationality","Two Serious Ladies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2012, Rachel Jane Carroll"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1054"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This paper examines the work of Jane Bowles, especially her novel Two Serious Ladies and long short story 'Camp Cataract,' as she demonstrates models of relationality. Using affect theory, this paper explores the way that Bowles's work may offer theories of relationality, in which the self and other function via processes of reading and inscription. These models work as criticisms or investigations of relational practices; however, more interestingly, the formal elements of Bowles's work, her poetic, aesthetic, and metafictional choices, demonstrate a relationship between reader and text that likewise operates along inscriptive and hermeneutic practices. This suggests not a fatalistic or stabilized portrait of relationality, but one in which there is room for change and adaptation--potentially changes that might have significant effects on the way that we consider identity.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“Of Considerable Interest But of No Great Importance”: Models of Relationality in the Work of Jane Bowles"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Catherine Keyser"],"dc:creator":["Carroll, Rachel Jane"],"dc:description.abstract":["This paper examines the work of Jane Bowles, especially her novel Two Serious Ladies and long short story 'Camp Cataract,' as she demonstrates models of relationality. Using affect theory, this paper explores the way that Bowles's work may offer theories of relationality, in which the self and other function via processes of reading and inscription. These models work as criticisms or investigations of relational practices; however, more interestingly, the formal elements of Bowles's work, her poetic, aesthetic, and metafictional choices, demonstrate a relationship between reader and text that likewise operates along inscriptive and hermeneutic practices. This suggests not a fatalistic or stabilized portrait of relationality, but one in which there is room for change and adaptation--potentially changes that might have significant effects on the way that we consider identity.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1054"],"dc:rights":["© 2012, Rachel Jane Carroll"],"dc:subject":["Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature","affect theory","Camp Cataract","hermeneutics","Jane Bowles","relationality","Two Serious Ladies"],"dc:title":["“Of Considerable Interest But of No Great Importance”: Models of Relationality in the Work of Jane Bowles"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English Language and Literatures"],"thesis:degree_level":["Campus Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:38:23Z"}