DOI

https://doi.org/10.25772/6DV4-A235

Author ORCID Identifier

orcid.org/0000-0002-4636-2811

Defense Date

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

English

First Advisor

Dr. Les Harrison

Second Advisor

Dr. Katherine Saunders Nash

Third Advisor

Dr. Carolyn Eastman

Abstract

Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are arguably two of the most highly read and heavily debated nineteenth-century antebellum authors in America. Their writings fascinate readers, while their character depictions, particularly their characterizations of fictional women, prompt intense academic debate. This thesis examines the previously less-studied historical developments surrounding Poe and Hawthorne in the antebellum era that shaped their approach to writing fiction. In particular, this study scrutinizes the effects of the development of a newly popular art form, ballet, the ascendency of female authorship, and the impact of American theatrical reform upon antebellum authors’ authorial faculties, especially Hawthorne and Poe.

Rights

© The Author

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

5-6-2017

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