Regional and Female National Selves in the Fiction of Postconfederation Canadian Women Writers, 1867-1900

286 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997.A material feature I uncover in these novels is the transatlantic crossing, configured in two consistent patterns. The first, developing a more conservative but still Canadian ideal woman, follows a crossing trajectory of Old to New World and back; the second, developing either a progressive ideal or new woman, both distinctly Canadian, follows the opposite trajectory. The more conservative heroines act as recuperative and redemptive forces once they return to the Old World; the progressive ones establish a strong Canadian ideal woman and/or embody characteristics of a Canadian New Woman. Moreover, whether or not the heroine is conservative or progressive, her relationship with Canadian nature is positive and as such of crucial importance in her development of ideal womanhood.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD