The Unseen Spaces: Landscape, the Female Body, and the Bildungsroman. Narrating the Transition Between Girlhood and Womanhood in Éilís Ní Dhuibhne's The Dancers Dancing

Authors

Erin J. Kerley, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department or Program

English

Advisor

Netzley, Ryan

Abstract

Using both Kontje’s and Bolaki’s discussions of the bildungsroman and ecofeminist criticism, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s novel, The Dancers Dancing, can be read as an exploration into the (often overlooked or hidden) experience of Irish female adolescence. Ní Dhuibhne likens the “unseen” spaces of the Irish country landscape – like the river the main character, Orla, frequents – to the experience of the adolescent Irish female.