Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

English

Faculty Advisor

Becky DiBiasio

Abstract

According to JRR Tolkien in his essay "On Fairy-Stories," fantasy stories and storytelling are important universal aspects to humanity. This two-part project explores the use of female archetypes in the fantasy genre as an example of their importance. For part one, various pieces of fantasy literature were read to gain a closer understanding of the scope of each author's style, worldbuilding, and use of female characters. Then a creative piece of three fantasy short stories in the fantasy genre were written to shed light on various aspects of the female experience. For part two, a critical analysis essay was written that discusses each story's creation in detail and explains how fantasy and archetypes influence our views of women and the female experience.

Share

COinS