The Rochester mansion of Thornfield : an insane asylum for Victorian women, 2022

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis Ven

Identifier: b7930855

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection consists of theses written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate English program. The holdings are primarily bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Master of Arts or Master of Fine Arts degrees.

From the Collection:

Students become eligible to pursue the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree if they have obtained a Master of Arts (M.A.) in English from Monmouth University and demonstrate a proficiency for creative writing through a thesis or equivalent work.

From the Collection:

After completing their 30-credit M.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration, Monmouth’s M.F.A. students take an additional 18 credits of intensive creative writing study that includes the completion of a book-length Creative Thesis.

From the Collection:

During the fall 2022 semester (in instances where the requisite waivers were received from consenting student authors), the Monmouth University Library, together with the University's Graduate School and Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences, began providing open access to select full-text digital versions of current theses and dissertations through links to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global website in the Library's Online Public Access Catalog. Links to these open access digital publications can also be found in the "External Documents" section under any conforming titles that are listed among the holdings itemized in the collection inventory for this finding aid.

Dates

Creation: 2022

Creator

Venezio, Deanna M. (1997- ) (Author, Person)
Jackson, Jeffrey (Thesis advisor, Person)

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

Unless noted otherwise at the resource component level, the language of the collection materials is English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Collection holdings may not be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (723-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Patrons must complete a Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to gain access to the collection holdings. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Extent

1 Items (print book) : 36 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Additional Description

Abstract

In the following thesis, I'm going to explore the direct parallels of Victorian-era insane asylumns and the Rochester Mansion [sic] in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. By applying a 21^st century reading, my thesis will highlight the antifeminist qualities of Brontë's narrative as well as its flaws in terms of its textual dependency on racist and ablest applications without vilifying her work per se. However, I argue that the Rochester mansion provides the necessary hierarchical and oppressive qualities for women to go mad and shrink into insignificant others. By looking at the mansion more critically, my thesis will address gender politics, racial inequality, and ablest mechanisms at the time of publication and their parallels to today's struggle with those issues. I will utilize Jane and Bertha as the primary examples of female characters, and then make a minor shift to Rochester and the transformation he and his relationship with Jane take on. The mansion presents a toxic, hopeless environment that acts as a Darwinistic challenge for Jane and Bertha: to survive the walls of a mansion--or in this context, an asylum.

Keywords: Victorian, ableism, body variation, feminist, orientation, sexuality, madness, insanity, confinement