“Witches are not so delicate”: A Feminist Analysis of Fantasy in Madeline Miller’s Circe
This thesis discusses fantasy as a subversive literary genre that deconstructs traditional female characters and reflects feminist postulates from the four waves of feminism in Madeline Miller’s Circe. Fantasy is one of the first genres in universal literature, and its relevance is still palpable in...
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| Format: | master thesis |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia |
| Repository: | e-spacio. Repositorio Institucional de la UNED |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:e-spacio.uned.es:20.500.14468/24994 |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/24994 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | 5505 Ciencias auxiliares de la historia Circe fantasy feminism Madeline Miller witch women’s representation fantasía feminismo bruja representación femenina |
| Summary: | This thesis discusses fantasy as a subversive literary genre that deconstructs traditional female characters and reflects feminist postulates from the four waves of feminism in Madeline Miller’s Circe. Fantasy is one of the first genres in universal literature, and its relevance is still palpable in contemporary popular culture. The genre’s versatility and evolution have enabled its social and ideological adaptation, making it a valuable medium to convey feminist conceptions to a wide and varied audience. In order to understand fantasy and its intersectionality with feminism, my research draws on a cultural and literary approach to fantasy on the basis of the theories and ideas developed by scholars such as Tzvetan Todorov, Rosemary Jackson, and Brian Attebery as well as a critical framework derived from feminist thinkers such as Judith Butler, Sylvia Walby and Rebecca Solnit, among others. From the convergence between fantasy theory and feminism, monster theory also becomes a relevant theoretical framework for this research, drawing from the work of renowned scholars such as Julia Kristeva, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, and Sady Doyle. This dissertation first presents an in-depth analysis of female representation in fantasy through Circe’s character in Miller’s novel, taking into account her contraposition to the Odyssey’s depiction. Furthermore, an examination of female monsters, and witches in Circe will be conducted, paying special attention to the role of the witch as a feminist symbol, and studying the processes of women’s “monsterization” and “otherization.” Finally, this study will discuss the influence of feminist postulates from the last three waves of feminism in Miller’s novel, presenting Circe as representative of the feminism of the fourth-wave. This character defies rape culture, contests Homer’s Odyssey and challenges patriarchal power systems, mechanisms of oppression, and gender constructions. As this thesis also demonstrates, Miller’s Circe exemplifies the subversive power of fantasy to acknowledge and defy contemporary realities, as well as to share feminist perspectives, providing a new framework accessible to a large and diverse readership. |
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