Graduation Semester and Year
2009
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in English
Department
English
First Advisor
Kenneth M Roemer
Abstract
This thesis examines uterine metaphors and birthing scenes in the novels and memoirs of Louise Erdrich. Specifically, it examines convergences between these images and material feminisms, as well as Ojibwe spirituality and ontology. Within these images and metaphors, Erdrich critiques personal, family and gender boundaries and also the nature/culture divide and even ideas which separate birth and death. It begins with actual birthing scenes in her texts, then moves to metaphors and similes which birth or maternity is implied. This thesis uses feminist theories by Alaimo, Harraway, Hekman and Irigaray and also science study scholars like Bruno Latour and Andrew Pickering. Additionally, it applies texts by Basil Johnston and Victor Barnouw which examine Ojibwe stories and spirituality. The thesis argues that within the convergences between material feminism and Ojibwe spirituality, Erdrich offers an interesting critique of Western ontology.
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | English Language and Literature
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
McCormack, Jodi Bain, "Maternal Bodies, Ojibwe Histories And Materiality In The Novels And Memoirs Of Louise Erdrich" (2009). English Theses. 66.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/english_theses/66
Comments
Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington