E-Thesis 200 views
The Burning Tower: Making a Heroine of Young Adult Fantasy / PERRY WYATT
Swansea University Author: PERRY WYATT
DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.66920
Abstract
Post-millennial Young Adult fantasy exploded in popularity at the turn of the century. As a result, iconic heroines such as Katniss Everdeen from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games series (2008-2010) reshaped female leads in the genre. Despite initial heraldry for a demonstration of female power and...
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Swansea, Wales, UK
2024
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Bilton, Alan |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66920 |
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| Abstract: |
Post-millennial Young Adult fantasy exploded in popularity at the turn of the century. As a result, iconic heroines such as Katniss Everdeen from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games series (2008-2010) reshaped female leads in the genre. Despite initial heraldry for a demonstration of female power and advancement towards equality, under modern parameters of feminism, heroines such as Everdeen become questionably admirable. Under the guise of empowerment, these heroines must adhere to patriarchal expectations such as, beauty being imperative; heteronormative unions and childbearing being the ultimate goal; and the overshadowing of female strength by male counterparts. These familiar requirements are reminiscent of the “damsels in distress” of fairy tales from the likes of the Grimm Brothers and Basile. Due to the fantasy genre’s roots in these ancient tales, YA fantasy has yet to fully break away from the past and as a result, has impacted many beloved contemporary heroines. Close analysis of popular YA texts such as the Divergent series by Veronica Roth (2011-2014) and YA fairy tale re-imaginings such as Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles Saga (2012-2015), establishes the problematic tropes haunting the genre’s leading ladies. The concentration of this study should allow Young Adult authors to become better equipped in their production of “feminist” heroines and offer opportunities for further discussion of adolescent literature. |
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| Keywords: |
Young Adult Fiction, YA, Fairy tale, Fairy tale Rewritten, Feminism, YA Heroine |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |