Date of Graduation
Spring 2016
Degree
Master of Arts in English
Department
English
Committee Chair
Jennifer Murvin
Abstract
This thesis is a collection of eight short fictions exploring the characterization of unlikable women in fiction. Each work herein incorporates the themes of romantic relationships and denial of traditional female gender roles. The female characters within embody traits of bitterness, passion, perseverance, rage, cunning, and pursuits of self-preservation and love as motivating forces. Through these characters' actions and choices, the narratives dissolve and reject the commonly accepted portrayals of women in fiction in an attempt to grasp at a greater, more complex truth of human nature and the female psyche.
Keywords
unlikable female characters, romantic relationships, gender roles, heartbreak, control
Subject Categories
English Language and Literature
Copyright
© Meagan Rose Stoops
Recommended Citation
Stoops, Meagan Rose, "The Terrible Women I've Been" (2016). MSU Graduate Theses/Dissertations. 2370.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/2370
