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The Portrayal of the Main Female Characters in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Trilogy

Sundman, Fanny LU (2013) ENGK01 20131
English Studies
Abstract
This thesis, based on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, analyses, from a gender perspective, the depiction of the two main female characters, the main protagonist Lyra and her mother Marisa Coulter, by contemplating their developments throughout the story and by comparing them to the depiction and development of their male counterparts: the second protagonist Will, and Lyra's father Lord Asriel. By examining how they relate to stereotypes and traditional gender roles; how femininity and masculinity are applied to the characters; how power is attributed differently depending on gender and by demonstrating how Lyra and Marisa both undergo radical transformations during the course of the plot, inhabiting conventional female roles,... (More)
This thesis, based on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, analyses, from a gender perspective, the depiction of the two main female characters, the main protagonist Lyra and her mother Marisa Coulter, by contemplating their developments throughout the story and by comparing them to the depiction and development of their male counterparts: the second protagonist Will, and Lyra's father Lord Asriel. By examining how they relate to stereotypes and traditional gender roles; how femininity and masculinity are applied to the characters; how power is attributed differently depending on gender and by demonstrating how Lyra and Marisa both undergo radical transformations during the course of the plot, inhabiting conventional female roles, I argue that the novels support notions of innate inequality between men and women, from a feminist viewpoint, on the level of character portrayal. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Sundman, Fanny LU
supervisor
organization
course
ENGK01 20131
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Philip Pullman, feminism, gender, female characters, His Dark Materials, character portrayal
language
English
id
3912764
date added to LUP
2013-08-05 09:34:57
date last changed
2013-08-05 09:34:57
@misc{3912764,
  abstract     = {{This thesis, based on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, analyses, from a gender perspective, the depiction of the two main female characters, the main protagonist Lyra and her mother Marisa Coulter, by contemplating their developments throughout the story and by comparing them to the depiction and development of their male counterparts: the second protagonist Will, and Lyra's father Lord Asriel. By examining how they relate to stereotypes and traditional gender roles; how femininity and masculinity are applied to the characters; how power is attributed differently depending on gender and by demonstrating how Lyra and Marisa both undergo radical transformations during the course of the plot, inhabiting conventional female roles, I argue that the novels support notions of innate inequality between men and women, from a feminist viewpoint, on the level of character portrayal.}},
  author       = {{Sundman, Fanny}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Portrayal of the Main Female Characters in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Trilogy}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}