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Focusing on the heroines in the novels Ivanhoe and The White Company: Peripheral but important

Sinclaire, Daniel LU (2026) ENGK03 20252
English Studies
Abstract
It is now well established that there is a reciprocal relationship between the content of literature and societal norms. Within feminist criticism, this has been highlighted as problematic, as women are often not portrayed fairly. In this essay, I will examine the relationship between literature and society by comparing the 19th-century Medieval novels Ivanhoe (1819) by Sir Walter Scott and The White Company (1891) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In relation to the former work, there is everything from general academic discussions about its chivalric, political content to a certain focus on its female characters, while the latter publication has received less attention. What makes this thesis novel is that it explicitly focuses on the heroines... (More)
It is now well established that there is a reciprocal relationship between the content of literature and societal norms. Within feminist criticism, this has been highlighted as problematic, as women are often not portrayed fairly. In this essay, I will examine the relationship between literature and society by comparing the 19th-century Medieval novels Ivanhoe (1819) by Sir Walter Scott and The White Company (1891) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In relation to the former work, there is everything from general academic discussions about its chivalric, political content to a certain focus on its female characters, while the latter publication has received less attention. What makes this thesis novel is that it explicitly focuses on the heroines in these two historical novels and analyzes them through the concept of gender roles and the terms constraint versus mobility, from the field of New Historicism. This essay therefore offers a new reading of the heroines Rebecca and Rowena in Ivanhoe and contributes to a new discussion of The White Company in relation to its female protagonist, Lady Maude. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Sinclaire, Daniel LU
supervisor
organization
course
ENGK03 20252
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Sir Walter Scott, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ivanhoe, The White Company, New Historicism, Gender Roles, Literature, Feministic Criticism, Rebecca, Rowena, Lady Maude, 18th Century, 19th Century, Britain, Novels, Women
language
English
id
9221304
date added to LUP
2026-01-29 12:42:26
date last changed
2026-01-29 12:42:26
@misc{9221304,
  abstract     = {{It is now well established that there is a reciprocal relationship between the content of literature and societal norms. Within feminist criticism, this has been highlighted as problematic, as women are often not portrayed fairly. In this essay, I will examine the relationship between literature and society by comparing the 19th-century Medieval novels Ivanhoe (1819) by Sir Walter Scott and The White Company (1891) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In relation to the former work, there is everything from general academic discussions about its chivalric, political content to a certain focus on its female characters, while the latter publication has received less attention. What makes this thesis novel is that it explicitly focuses on the heroines in these two historical novels and analyzes them through the concept of gender roles and the terms constraint versus mobility, from the field of New Historicism. This essay therefore offers a new reading of the heroines Rebecca and Rowena in Ivanhoe and contributes to a new discussion of The White Company in relation to its female protagonist, Lady Maude.}},
  author       = {{Sinclaire, Daniel}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Focusing on the heroines in the novels Ivanhoe and The White Company: Peripheral but important}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}