Log in
|
Help
|
English

English

Engish-Pirate

한국어

Search

Advanced Search

Find results with:

Add another field

Search by date

to

Searching collections:

CCSU Theses and Dissertations

Add or remove collections

Home The evolving role of female characters in selected works of Norman Mailer / Tara M. Carlin

Reference URL

Share

Add tags

Comment

Rate

To link to this object, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed this object, paste this HTML in website

The evolving role of female characters in selected works of Norman Mailer / Tara M. Carlin

View Description

Download

small (250x250 max)

medium (500x500 max)

large ( > 500x500)

Full Resolution

Print

you wish to report:

Your comment:

Your Name:

Submit

Cancel

...

Back to top

Powered by CONTENTdm®

Select the collections to add or remove from your search

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Select All Collections

C

CCSU Student Publications

CCSU Theses and Dissertations

G

GLBTQ Archives

M

Modern Language Oral Histories

O

O'Neill Archives Oral Histories

P

Polish American Pamphlets

T

Treasures from the Special Collections

V

Veterans History Project

OK

Cancel

Identifier	Thesis 1782
Author	Carlin, Tara M., 1976-
Title	The evolving role of female characters in selected works of Norman Mailer / Tara M. Carlin
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date	2003
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Notes	Norman Mailer has never been portrayed as a favorite of female readers; moreover, he has been persistently misunderstood in terms of the female role in his works throughout his fifty-six year writing career. These misinterpretations may be attributed to some of his central paradoxical theories. These include the role of the mind in contracting cancer or preventing conception, his suggestion that antibiotics cause AIDS, or perhaps most significant, the transfer of psychic power between combatants or lovers. All of these must be quoted at length in order to be fully comprehended. Suffice it to say, these theories are mostly seen in The Prisoner of sex, a work integral to this thesis because it functions as Mailer's personal reaction to women who have not understood his work (and in some cases attacked it) in the early and middle stages of his writing career. Through a close textual analysis of seven significant Mailer works, this thesis will trace chronologically the evolving and increasingly complex role of primary female characters within his works, Transitions between these novels will highlight how specific female characters are used to embody the development of Mailer's philosophies. The female characters to be analyzed are Deborah, Ruta, and Cherry in An American Dream (1964), Marilyn Monroe int he biography Marilyn (1972) and Of Women and Their Elegance (1980) (written from the first-person point of view of Marilyn), Madeleine and Patty in Tough Guys Don't Dance (1984), and Kittredge and Sally in Harlot's Ghost (1991). The remaining two works, The Prisoner of Sex (1971) and Genius and Lust (1976) will serve as direct support in explaining Mailer's personal philosophies. A brief selection from The Time of Our Time (1998) entitled, "The Time of Her Time" will also be included for the purpose of highlighting a controversial passage that is part of Mailer's novel, Advertisements for Myself. These and the above analyses are, I believe, essential in exposing today's female Mailer reader to a better understanding of his theories, in hopes of sparking further interest in not just the presented material but all of his works. A more specific view of which novel exemplifies which philosophical theme will be dealt with in the chronological order in which the novels appeared (with the exception of Chapter Seven), showing how specific female characters exemplify each theme's meaning. For example, An American Dream is a novel in which Mailer uses both supernatural and grotesque dialogue entailing the two themes of cancer and contraceptive use. Mailer parallels Rojack's stirring emotional sickness to the imminent danger of cancer unless he can overpower his wife Deborah by killing her, thus absorbing her power and destroying his malignancy. Rojack's battle for existential self-definition in a naturalistic world continues later in the novel, when he has sex with the singer, Cherry. Her diaphragm is compared to a shield, her womb unreachable. Once the contraceptive is removed, Rojack and Cherry are now equals, sparking his inner battle of whether he can accept lave, which he ultimately does. The themes of inner sickness and repudiation of contraceptives continue in Marilyn and Of Women and Their Elegance. The critic Ingrid Bengis writes that Mailer is after the degree of intimacy that reveals obscure aspects of one's personality (72). In Marilyn, Mailer writes in his chapter on Marilyn in Hollywood, "we never know which curses, evils, frights, and plagues are passed into another under the mistaken impulse we are offering some exchange of passion, greed, and sexual charge." By avoiding contraception, two people exchange not merely fluids but actual power and spiritual good or evil. Tough Guys Don't Dance and Harlot's Ghost appear further along in Mailer's career, yet still establish the protagonists' solution to their inner existential battles through the acceptance of love from their women. In Tough Guys, the theme of curing cancer is prevalent in the relationship between Madden and Madeleine. Barry H. Leeds supports this in his book, The Enduring Vision of Norman Mailer, by writing, "again, cancer figures prominently, supernatural omens abound, and potential salvation is offered through a regenerative heterosexual love" (74). It is with this Mailer concept that I present the evolving female character as a saving force for each of his male characters. Related but subordinate issues in this research are the responses of several representative women (not necessarily feminist) critics and biographers to Mailer's female characters. Such key critics include Laura Adams, Barbara Lounsberry, Diana Trilling, Judith Fetterly, Stacey Olster, and Joyce Carol Oates. Their ideas will be presented as contributing evidence illuminating the chronological evolution of Mailer's female characters. Part of this subordinate issue of research deals with the spectrum of positive vs. negative female viewpoints, as is most obviously seen between the integrity and accuracy of Lounsberry, and the disingenuous malice of Millett. One such example of pure insult without substantial evidence is in Millett's book, Sexual Politics, where she writes that An American Dream is simply "an exercise in how to kill your wife and be happy ever after." Germaine Greer, also a feminist author, disagreed with Millett, stating that she had "misidentified the enemy" and also told The New York Times, "It's absolutely philistine not to recognize what a great book An American Dream is." As far as accuracy and integrity are concerned, Lounsberry has shown such support of Mailer's works by stating, "his greatest gift as a writer is for metaphor, which he employs as a probe of his subject and as a tool for enhancing intimacy with his readers and stimulating mental and social activity." All responses chosen will lend themselves to understanding the misinterpretations of Mailer's feelings about women, and the crucial role of his female characters in each novel. In addition to these primarily female sources, Barry H. Leeds and J. Michael Lennon will contribute their expertise from a current point of view and a historical/chronological one. Rather than merely synthesizing the interpretations of the critics, this thesis will consist primarily of my own views regarding Mailer's female characters, with the works cited used to substantiate my personal analysis. My research consists of positive feedback concerning Mailer's woman characters. I am one female Mailer reader who believes that such characters as Deborah, Cherry, Kittredge, and Madeleine bring Mailer's philosophies to life. These women bring Mailer's main male characters out from their naturalistic nightmares and further toward the protagonists' existential journey's. I disagree emphatically that the above female characters were created in any offensive or degrading way, but rather am convinced that Norman Mailer does not hate women, and is, on the contrary, so intrigued by them that he finds the rawest possible edge of the female being in his writings. Ideally, this work should serve as a research tool for future Norman Mailer readers, welcoming new interpretations of his work amidst the ever-changing society of the twenty-first century.
Subject	Mailer, Norman -- Characters -- Women
Department	Department of English
Advisor	Leeds, Barry H.
Type	Text
Digital Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
OCLC number	61659888
Rating

Find results with:

Searching collections:

Home The evolving role of female characters in selected works of Norman Mailer / Tara M. Carlin

The evolving role of female characters in selected works of Norman Mailer / Tara M. Carlin

Description

Tags

Comments