Exploring the subgenre ‘novels of female adultery’ in the 19th century western literary tradition through a feminist and queer analysis of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore the subversive role of ‘novels of female adultery’ within the context of a 19th century European Literary tradition. Both the primary texts for my research, The Awakening and Rebecca, revolves around the lives of complex women. These fictional women change the course of their lives and those around them by committing adultery and embracing their ultimate demise. The obvious interpretation of this trend is that the ‘novels of female adultery’ reinforce gender stereotypes. However, a feminist and queer analysis of these novels reveals that they provide a crucial and timely opportunity to safely deconstruct heteronormative ideas of marriage at a time when happy unions that were so readily portrayed in women's forms of entertainment.