Decapitation and disgorgement: The female body\u27s text in early modern English literature

My dissertation focuses on language and forms of expression for women in early modern English literature. In particular, William Shakespeare\u27s character Lavinia from Titus Andronicus, Elizabeth Cary\u27s character Mariam in The Tragedy of Mariam, and Isabella Whitney\u27s narrative voice in her poem The Manner of Her Will are examined. French feminist Helene Cixous provides the theoretical framework for this project. Exploring manifestations of Cixous\u27s crucial terms decapitation and disgorgement is the objective of the three core chapters. Privileging the female body\u27s text and discussing the variety of means used to speak it is of central concern. The connection between silencing and expression that brings about a subversion of discourse through generosity rather than hostility is interrogated. I continue to be excited by an investigation of unique ways in which women use language to express rather than be repressed by patriarchal society. This project attempts to follow in the footsteps of contemporary psychoanalytic feminists and post-structuralist critics