The Role of Women in Society in 19th-Century Literature Compared to Contemporary Literature - Inaugural-Dissertation

Oct 13, 2026

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Doctoral dissertation examining how the role and portrayal of women changed over the past 200 years by comparing bestselling authors and works from the 19th and the 21st centuries. The study links shifts in literary imagery to broader social beliefs, addressing persistent gender inequality despite feminist gains. It analyzes whether women are still framed through categories such as ‘Angel in the House’ and ‘Fallen Woman’, and evaluates the accuracy of these depictions alongside evolving multicultural perspectives.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages317

Reading Time1 h 51 min

AccessFree to download

Acknowledgements

Plagiatserklärung

Abstract

Zusammenfassung

The Role of Women in Society in 19th-Century Literature Compared to Contemporary Literature Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München vorgelegt von Katharina Patrizia Pohlmann aus München 2025 Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Helge Nowak Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Enno Ruge Tag der Verteidigung: 13. Februar 2025 Acknowledgements Writing this doctoral thesis has become more and more of a personal concern forme over the course of my work. While I initially started out by simply being interested in how feminism evolved, where it started and where it is now, I soon began to realize that there are issues concerning the equality between the genders that are so deeply rooted within society that we do not even recognize them anymore. It starts with telling people your topic and immediately receiving apitying look, which makes you want to explain yourself and make it clear that you don't hate all men. It ends with being told that this is not a ‘man’s topic’, and therefore isnot necessarily relevant. I would therefore like to extend my deepest gratitude to the people who supported me and my thesis from the very beginning all throughout the end: First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Helge Nowak, for all the help, criticism, and comments. It would not have been possible without you. I would also like to thank my second examiner, Prof. Dr. Enno Ruge, for the comments and help. I am immensely grateful for the help from both of you. Secondly, a big thank you goes to my family and friends for always listening, giving an opinion, or just letting me rant. Thirdly, to all the incredible women in my life, thank you. Being a girl ’s girl has never been so easy. Plagiatserklärung Von Plagiat spricht man, wenn Ideen und Worte anderer als eigene ausgegeben werden. Dabei spielt es keine Rolle, aus welcher Quelle (Buch, Zeitschrift, Zeitung, Internet usw.) die fremden Ideen und Worte stammen, ebenso wenig, ob es sich um größere oder kleinere Übernahmen handelt oder ob die Entlehnungen wörtlich oder übersetzt oder sinngemäß sind. Folgende Fälle stellen Plagiate dar: • Einreichen einer Arbeit, mit deren Erstellung eine andere Person beauftragt wurde; • Einreichen einer fremden Arbeit unter eigenem Namen; • wörtliche Übernahme von Textpassagen aus Werken Anderer, ohne diese graphisch als Zitat zu markieren und/oder ohne die Quelle an derentsprechenden Stelle im Text kenntlich zu machen; • Übernehmen von Ideen, Aussagen oder Argumentationen, ohne die Quelle eindeutig kenntlich zu machen; • Übersetzen von Texten oder Textpassagen, ohne die Quelle kenntlich zumachen. Ich erkläre hiermit, dass ich diese Arbeit selbstständig verfasst und keine anderen Hilfsmittel als die angegebenen benutzt habe. Die Stellen der Arbeit, die anderen Werken dem Wortlaut oder dem Sinn nach entnommen sind, sind in jedemeinzelnen Fall unter Angabe der Quelle als Entlehnung kenntlich gemacht. Katharina Pohlmann, Juni 2025 Abstract As up until the end of the 19th century women were underrepresented in literary studies and female writers often had to use a male penname in order to be published, gender studies and female theory play a big role in contemporary literary theory. While in the 19th century women were measured by the contrasting terms ‘Angel in the House’, ‘Fallen Woman ’, and, by the second half of the 19th century, ‘New Woman’, women appear to be a lot freer in their life choices in today’s society, and female writers and characters play a much bigger role in contemporary literature. However, despite the freedom women gained through the waves of feminism, one can still see the inequality between the genders in the 21st century, be it in the workforce on the example of the gender pay gap or in everyday life where women are blamed for being molested. It is often claimed that literature functions as a mirror of society. Conseque

FAQs

What is the main research goal of the dissertation?

To examine how the role of women within society has changed over the last 200 years and whether women are still classified using terms like ‘Angel in the House’ and ‘Fallen Woman’.

How does the dissertation compare different time periods?

It compares bestselling authors and the way women are written about in the 19th century versus the 21st century, focusing on what the wider public preferred to read in each era.

Which aspects beyond general portrayal are also examined?

The dissertation additionally focuses on the changing image of women and the situation for women with a multicultural background, including whether portrayals align with reality and share common ground across cultures.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by jay