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Rape - A Love Story? Representations of Rape in Disgrace, Cereus Blooms at Night, Atonement, and Rape: A Love Story

Blankenhaus, Shuna LU (2017) LIVR07 20171
English Studies
Master's Programme: Literature - Culture - Media
Abstract
This thesis examines the representation of rape in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999), Shani Motoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night (1996), Ian McEwan’s Atonement (2001), and Joyce Carol Oates’ Rape: A Love Story (2003). The analysis of the novels is introduced by a background chapter that outlines the literary history of the rape metaphor and feminist attitudes towards the representation and definition of rape. Following this, the rape scenes iof the novels are analysed in individual chapters. The Scenes are explored in their relation to intertextuality and narrative perspectives, which connect the rapes to a canonical Western framework for the metaphor of rape in literature. In addition, the critical response to the novels and the lack thereof, are... (More)
This thesis examines the representation of rape in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999), Shani Motoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night (1996), Ian McEwan’s Atonement (2001), and Joyce Carol Oates’ Rape: A Love Story (2003). The analysis of the novels is introduced by a background chapter that outlines the literary history of the rape metaphor and feminist attitudes towards the representation and definition of rape. Following this, the rape scenes iof the novels are analysed in individual chapters. The Scenes are explored in their relation to intertextuality and narrative perspectives, which connect the rapes to a canonical Western framework for the metaphor of rape in literature. In addition, the critical response to the novels and the lack thereof, are explored in their function of cultivating the metaphor of rape. Finally, the argument is made that the rapes in Disgrace, Cereus Blooms at Night and Atonement mirror the traditional metaphorization of rape in literature in varying ways. However, Rape: A Love Story, which lacks critical response, reverses this tradition through its representation of rape and therefore disables the metaphorization process. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Blankenhaus, Shuna LU
supervisor
organization
course
LIVR07 20171
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
8919598
date added to LUP
2017-09-06 12:05:08
date last changed
2017-09-06 12:05:08
@misc{8919598,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines the representation of rape in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999), Shani Motoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night (1996), Ian McEwan’s Atonement (2001), and Joyce Carol Oates’ Rape: A Love Story (2003). The analysis of the novels is introduced by a background chapter that outlines the literary history of the rape metaphor and feminist attitudes towards the representation and definition of rape. Following this, the rape scenes iof the novels are analysed in individual chapters. The Scenes are explored in their relation to intertextuality and narrative perspectives, which connect the rapes to a canonical Western framework for the metaphor of rape in literature. In addition, the critical response to the novels and the lack thereof, are explored in their function of cultivating the metaphor of rape. Finally, the argument is made that the rapes in Disgrace, Cereus Blooms at Night and Atonement mirror the traditional metaphorization of rape in literature in varying ways. However, Rape: A Love Story, which lacks critical response, reverses this tradition through its representation of rape and therefore disables the metaphorization process.}},
  author       = {{Blankenhaus, Shuna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Rape - A Love Story? Representations of Rape in Disgrace, Cereus Blooms at Night, Atonement, and Rape: A Love Story}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}