The Existence of a Female Bildungsroman
An Analysis of Mill on the Floss and My Ántonia
Mostly a male-centric genre focusing on the development of a boy into his maturity, the very definition of the bildungsroman is disinclined to include its female counterpart, and in doing so has insisted on the two genders being an irreconcilable dichotomy.[1] This division, however, can be seen only as a consequence of the era in […]
The Nature and Redemption of the Anti-Hero
A Literary Analysis of the Anti-Hero Trope
What makes a hero? In literature a hero (or heroine) is defined as ‘The principle male and female characters in a work of literature’ and ‘In criticism the terms carry no connotations of virtuousness or honour.’[1] Yet any reader’s natural moral code should reject antagonistic protagonists just as easily as they cast judgement in reality. [...]