Date of Award
5-23-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Department of English
First Advisor
Susan M. Kim
Abstract
This thesis examines the poems Beowulf and Judith with a focus on the ways in which peaceweavers and treasure objects are portrayed. In Old English texts, such as Beowulf, peaceweaving women have been compared to the role of treasure, with claims that peaceweavers act in the same way and perform the same duties as objects of exchange: they bring peace between men. By using an object-oriented perspective to examine the relationships between these agentive objects and the women objectified as such, I argue that a more nuanced understanding of women’s agency and power in early medieval England can be reached. If early medieval English women are objectified, they may also be interpreted as having agency (and power) on levels comparable to these trade objects, and thus comparable to that of men. Thus, in my thesis, I seek to answer the following question: What does it mean for a woman to be objectified if the object is agentive?
Recommended Citation
Parker, Alexa, "Treasure, Women, and Agency: Exploring Objectification in a World of Living Objects" (2021). Theses and Dissertations. 1460.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/1460
DOI
https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2021.20211012065805355824.999965
Page Count
77
Comments
Imported from Parker_ilstu_0092N_11962.pdf