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ETD Abstract Container

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Humor, Characterization, Plot: The Role of Secondary Characters in Late Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Marriage Novels

Peterson, Katrina M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1303262727

Abstract Details

2011, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, English.
Many late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British novels utilize laughter as a social corrective, but this same laughter hides other messages about women’s roles. As the genre’s popularity widened, writers used novels to express opinions that would be eschewed in other, more established and serious genres. My dissertation argues that humor contributes to narrative meaning; as readers laugh at “minor” characters, their laughter discourages specific behaviors, yet it also masks characters’ important functions within narrative structure. Each chapter examines one type of humor—irony, parody, satire, and wit—along with a secondary female archetype: the matriarch, the old maid, the monster, and the mentor. Traditionally, the importance of laughter has been minimized, and the role of minor characters understudied. My project seeks to redress this imbalance through focusing on humor, secondary characterization, and plot.
Clare Simmons, PhD (Advisor)
Leslie Tannenbaum, PhD (Committee Member)
Jill Galvan, PhD (Committee Member)
262 p.
Literature
humor; laughter; minor characters; secondary characters; plot; narrative; marriage; British literature; nineteenth century; novels; matriarch; spinster; grotesque; mentor

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Peterson, K. M. (2011). Humor, Characterization, Plot: The Role of Secondary Characters in Late Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Marriage Novels [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1303262727

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Peterson, Katrina. Humor, Characterization, Plot: The Role of Secondary Characters in Late Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Marriage Novels. 2011. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1303262727.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Peterson, Katrina. "Humor, Characterization, Plot: The Role of Secondary Characters in Late Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Marriage Novels." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1303262727

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1303262727
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.