Type
Text
Type
Thesis
Advisor
Tondre, Michael | Munich, Adrienne
Date
2016-12-01
Keywords
English literature -- Literature | lancelot and elaine, pearls, tennyson, the marriage of geraint, thing theory
Department
Department of English
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/77515
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
This thesis takes an object-oriented approach to Tennyson’s Idylls of the King through an analysis of Elaine’s pearled sleeve in “Lancelot and Elaine†and Enid’s faded dress in “The Marriage of Geraint.†It considers the pearl as a thing; a thing that can be exchanged, a thing against which one can orient and identify the self, and finally a thing that exists already within English cultural history. It considers Enid’s dress as a material garment upon which numerous meanings can be inscribed. The thesis argues that Elaine and Enid each demonstrate the unique role women have in relation to their objects within Camelot; while neither woman has complete control over the objects that they possess, these objects ultimately speak both for and with the women who own them. Things amass multiple meanings within the Idylls and thus allow Elaine’s pearls and Enid’s dress to communicate and embark upon troubled trajectories of signification. Through paying attention to how objects resonate within the idylls in which they appear — in terms of cultural resonance, contemporary relevance, and plot significance — it becomes clear that Tennyson used objects to create a specific narrative of material/human relationships. If meaning can be inferred from the organization of things into texts, meaning about Elaine’s pearls and Enid’s faded dress can be found through observing the movement, loss, and recovery of these objects within Tennyson’s Idylls. | 42 pages
Recommended Citation
Plavnicky, Jordan Elizabeth, "Elaine's "Priceless" Pearls and Enid's Faded Dress: The Self and the Thing in "Lancelot and Elaine" and "The Marriage of Geraint"" (2016). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 3322.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/3322