Date of Award

10-2-1991

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

English

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on twenty novels--ten by men and ten by women--set in coal-mining locales circa 1840 to 1940. It analyzes power relationships and structures of oppression that emerge through the fictional techniques of setting, character, and theme, positing that a paradigm shift is visible in some texts. Hegemonic power relationships and the accompanying oppression of the "less important" entity in male/female, management/labor configurations are evident in many of the novels, but some texts treat the power relationships differently. In these texts, the role of the women and the role of the laborers shift from that of a marginalized Other to that of active participant in the actions of the community.Chapter I places the novels within their historical contexts. Relevant bifurcations of the coal-mining industry in Great Britain and the United States circa 1840-1940 are discussed concomitant with the novels that depict them. Chapter II deals with setting and its bifurcation into two sub-settings: the mine and the home. These two sub-settings are split definitively by gender in many of the novels, with men working in the mine and women working in the Other subsetting--the home. But some texts act in the paradigm shift which moves away from gender-specific settings.Chapter III deals with characters and their bifurcation into several opposing factions, but most importantly that of management versus laborer. Intermingled with this major bifurcation, however, are several other bifurcations, for example, native-born miner versus foreign-born miner. In some texts, these bifurcations are evident and appear to be implacable, with the status of the apparent Other seeming to be irrefutable and ubiquitous. In different texts, however, some characters act as figures to change these dramatic bifurcations, supporting a diachronic paradigm shift toward a non-hierarchical system of both gender and managerial relationships.Chapter IV deals with theme. Dualistic configurations also emerge in the themes of some of the texts, but in other texts, the creation of a non-hierarchical community occurs. This chapter emphasizes the theme of creation of community as enacted by women characters.

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