Date of Award
4-22-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
English, MA
First Advisor
Dr. Kate Krueger
Second Advisor
Dr. Jason Barrett-Fox
Committee Members
Dr. Janelle Collins; Dr. Jason Barrett-Fox; Dr. Kate Krueger
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2016 H62
Abstract
In order to demonstrate the way his female characters rhetorically share agency with biological matter and inanimate objects within the social constructions of his novels, my thesis aims to reveal how the works of Milan Kundera can be explored through a posthumanist, feminist lens. Because several of the female characters are ontologically diminished to their female body by societal constructs, they are well aware that the body is not lacking rhetorical determination despite it being objectified due to gender binaries. Kundera’s female characters are able to surpass the social constructs more efficaciously than their male counterparts because they are more willing to gain autonomy by rejecting a Cartesian dualistic view of body/mind and distributing their rhetorical agency through bodily performance and inanimate material.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hutchison, Brennah F., "“A Tool Knows Exactly How It Is Meant to Be Handled”: Posthumanism and Female Agency in the Works of Milan Kundera" (2016). Student Theses and Dissertations. 636.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/636
