Rooting, Subverting, and Reclaiming: An Analysis of Clemence of Barking's Catherine of Alexandria as a Pre-modern Gendered Text

• Author / Creator

  Froese, Gina J

• This thesis suggests a solution to the longstanding tension between feminist literary theory and medieval religious writing. I argue that by appropriately translating key concepts in feminist theory to account for the particularities of earlier periods of genre literature, we may reconsider settled assumptions about medieval religious writing. Using Clemence of Barking’s twelfth century Passio of Catherine of Alexandria as a case in point, this study develops a feminist deconstructive and historical analytic method for comparing hagiographies written by men and women. I show how the female medieval author roots herself in a religious tradition, subverts traditional patriarchal characterization and reclaims the depictions of earlier source texts for a gender positive narrative. The thesis concludes that far from being tools of religious patriarchy, female authors in this genre made subtle alterations to hagiographic narrative in order to rearticulate theological arguments and undercut their misogynistic potential.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Female authorship and writing
  • Gendered authorship
  • Clemence of Barking
  • Medieval female writing

• Graduation date

  Spring 2014

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3DV1CV5R

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.