Proposal Title
Trethewey Redefines Bildungsroman
Abstract
How do we define the path to self-realization? And do we know when we have completed this journey? More importantly, does Trethewey’s poetic works articulate a successful female development through her literary persona? Examining her art in a comparative lens to literary personas like Chopin’s Edna in The Awakening aids in portraying the antithesis of a successful literary development of a female character. However, you can’t prove a thesis with a negative, so using texts from validated opinions of esteemed authors who help define the female bildungsroman provides a blueprint for defining a successful development. In this vein of a comparative lens, we have to take into account the perspectives in which we absorb these literary personas. Edna from The Awakening denounces her past, and we only see her development from the present. In contrast, Trethewey couples her personal past with her historical past to forge a successful sense of identity and development. This idea of distinguishing the bildungsroman for women of color from white women creates a different idea of success for Trethewey’s literary persona. Grappling with race, along with class and gender, generates a new perspective on how and when a successful development is reached. Through this research, an attempt will be made to redefine successful development and find out if Trethewey achieves that. With answering these questions we will try to prove that female development of literary personas is richer and more successful when integrating a full personal, and historical, past.
Start Date
27-3-2019 3:00 PM
End Date
27-3-2019 3:50 PM
Room Number
U-Hall 3-087
Presentation Type
Paper
Disciplines
Modern Literature
Trethewey Redefines Bildungsroman
How do we define the path to self-realization? And do we know when we have completed this journey? More importantly, does Trethewey’s poetic works articulate a successful female development through her literary persona? Examining her art in a comparative lens to literary personas like Chopin’s Edna in The Awakening aids in portraying the antithesis of a successful literary development of a female character. However, you can’t prove a thesis with a negative, so using texts from validated opinions of esteemed authors who help define the female bildungsroman provides a blueprint for defining a successful development. In this vein of a comparative lens, we have to take into account the perspectives in which we absorb these literary personas. Edna from The Awakening denounces her past, and we only see her development from the present. In contrast, Trethewey couples her personal past with her historical past to forge a successful sense of identity and development. This idea of distinguishing the bildungsroman for women of color from white women creates a different idea of success for Trethewey’s literary persona. Grappling with race, along with class and gender, generates a new perspective on how and when a successful development is reached. Through this research, an attempt will be made to redefine successful development and find out if Trethewey achieves that. With answering these questions we will try to prove that female development of literary personas is richer and more successful when integrating a full personal, and historical, past.
