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    Masculine Interludes: Monstrosity and Compassionate Manhood in American Literature, 1845-1899

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    Issue Date
    2008-08-05
    Author
    Voeller, Carey
    Publisher
    University of Kansas
    Format
    201 pages
    Type
    Dissertation
    Degree Level
    PH.D.
    Discipline
    English
    Rights
    This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
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    Abstract
    This dissertation examines the textual formulation of "compassionate manhood"--a kind, gentle trope of masculinity--in nineteenth-century American literature. George Lippard, Mark Twain, J. Quinn Thornton, and Stephen Crane utilize figures who physically and morally deviate from the "norm" to promote compassionate manhood in texts that illustrate dominant constructions of masculinity structured on aggressive individualism. Compassionate manhood operates through the concept of the "masculine interlude," the space where men perform kindness between the narrative's other scenes. Both compassionate manhood and masculine interludes allow the authors to critique the types of men produced by market capitalism, reform movements, western expansion, and euthanasia debates. Though each author negates the compassionate figure at the end of his text--and thus we witness the conclusion of the masculine interlude--the moments of compassion throughout prevent the narrative as a whole from endorsing the aggressive, masculine trope it has critiqued.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/6621
    Collections
    • Dissertations [4319]
    • English Dissertations and Theses [450]

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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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