Abstract
By drawing on a wide range of literary and non-literary materials authored by women, this thesis explores what it meant to be a sixteenth- and seventeenth-century woman suffering persecution. It considers the ways in which persecution operated in relation to prescribed female stereotypes and gendered restrictions in early modern England and wider Europe, worlds in which the Christian St. Paul forbade women to speak. Therefore, this thesis breaks new ground by focusing on persecution as a gendered experience rather than something exclusively religious or political in nature. Rather than examining the effect of persecution on any one religious or political grouping, it prioritises gender to highlight women's experiences, and the treatment they were accorded, in a series of different persecutory contexts and situations. In this way the thesis tracks the multi-faceted nature of persecution itself.Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2026.
| Date of Award | Jul 2023 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Sponsors | Northern Ireland Department for the Economy |
| Supervisor | Ramona Wray (Supervisor) & Edel Lamb (Supervisor) |
Keywords
- Women's writing
- persecution
- martyrdom
- early modern literature