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ETD Abstract Container

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Women's Social Bonds in Greek and Roman Comedy

Feltovich, Anne C.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1311691038

Abstract Details

2011, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Classics.
This project evaluates a range of social relationships between women in Greek and Roman comedy, focusing on the four authors from whom we have the most extant material: Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, and Terence. I examine how social and familial bonds between women affect the risks they are willing to take on behalf of other women in their social circles. Scholarship on women in comedy has focused on their relationships to men, but my research takes the study of women in a new direction by evaluating their relationships with each other. Although comedy itself focuses on the social world of men, I am able to uncover significant information about women’s subculture in comedy by reading the plays from an alternative perspective. References to relationships between women are scattered and often indirect, but by compiling the evidence I demonstrate in Chapter 2 that the depiction of women’s social networks is consistent across all four authors. With this background, I examine the bonds between women more closely in the remaining chapters. Chapter 3 looks at three plays of Aristophanes, in which large communities of women cooperate to improve the lives of all women, often requiring individuals to take personal risks for the betterment of the group. Chapter 4 investigates relationships between courtesans in New Comedy, a genre in which this type of character sometimes features prominently. A close reading of the texts makes it apparent that courtesans act not just as a result of economic constraints, but equally because of emotional bonds with friends and family members. Finally, Chapter 5 examines instances of ethical deliberation by females in New Comedy, showing that women of all social classes exhibit ethical behavior even when it requires serious social and physical risks.
Kathryn Gutzwiller, PhD (Committee Chair)
Holt Parker, PhD (Committee Member)
Susan Prince, PhD (Committee Member)
245 p.
Classical Studies
Comedy; Greek; Roman; Women

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Feltovich, A. C. (2011). Women's Social Bonds in Greek and Roman Comedy [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1311691038

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Feltovich, Anne. Women's Social Bonds in Greek and Roman Comedy. 2011. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1311691038.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Feltovich, Anne. "Women's Social Bonds in Greek and Roman Comedy." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1311691038

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1311691038
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© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.