Female sexuality in Toni Morrison's Love
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The Department of English seeks to provide all university students with the skills of effective communication and critical thinking, as well as imparting knowledge of literature, creative writing, linguistics, speech and technical communication to students within and outside of the department.
History
The Department of English and Speech was formed in 1939 from the merger of the Department of English and the Department of Public Speaking. In 1971 its name changed to the Department of English.
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1939-present
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- Department of English and Speech (1939-1971)
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- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (parent college)
- Department of English (predecessor, 1898-1939)
- Department of Public Speaking (predecessor, 1898-1939)
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Abstract
In the foreword to her 2003 novel Love, Toni Morrison states that love and betrayal are coexisting themes within her works. Investigating these themes further, this thesis aims to explore the influences of heterosexuality on Morrison's female characters by applying feminist psychoanalytic theory to Love. Specifically, the characters Heed the Night, Christine, and Junior are analyzed. Within this thesis, family is approached as a microcosmic example of the influences of heterosexuality on the individual. Triangular frameworks within psychoanalytic theory are applied as a framework for analyzing each of the three female characters in terms of heterosexual identity, and for examining the effects of not only gender, but race and class, on identity formation.