Taylor Follett Humanities and Social Science
The 'Three-Dimensional Woman': Exploring Gender and Representing Femininity in James Joyce's Ulysses
Upon first reading Ulysses by James Joyce, I developed a question: why does one of the most significant novels of the modernist canon, a literary movement associated with hyper-masculine authors, contain such a prominent focus on the feminine and end with a female narrator? Throughout Ulysses, Joyce investigates the trappings of normative gender, especially through Molly and Leopold Bloom. My research engages with this investigation and my original question, pursuing critical conversations surrounding Ulysses while also examining texts from queer theory and novelistic theory in order to interrogate the precise role of gender within Joyces masterpiece. My project uses this interrogation to suggest that, due in part to Ulyssess remarkable influence upon the literary world, Joyce was able to pave the way for new, complex conceptions of femininity and gender within the 20th century novel as a whole.
Message To Sponsor
Dear Anslem Fund, Thank you so much for this phenomenal opportunity to work through the research questions I have wanted to pursue for several years now. Thanks to your donation, I have been able to spend my summer devoting the vast majority of my time to my primary text and secondary sources in order to further enhance my analysis, and added two additional aspects to my argument. I was also able to travel to Ireland and visit where James Joyce wrote, as well as the James Joyce Centre and Dublin Writers Museum, which both helped my thesis and increased my knowledge related to particular aspects of my idea for graduate school. I actually wrote my statement of purpose for graduate school based in part on the experience there! Now, I feel very prepared as I embark on my honors thesis, including adding an additional author into my conversation, since I have already made strides on the groundwork research. I could not have done this without your help, and really appreciate it. Best, Taylor Follett