Views separated by time and terrain : the feminine perspective in the travel writings of Isabella Bird and Kira Salak
Abstract
This study compares the feminine perspectives of Isabella Bird and Kira Salak, each of whom traveled alone across many continents and wrote - for publication - about her experiences. The purpose of this study is to identify some of the distinctive ways that women travel writers reveal a feminine viewpoint as a narrative style in their writings and to offer some speculations about the differences between the female self and the male ego. This thesis follows a course of research focused on examining the construction of narrative styles by Bird and Salak within articles and books through a combination of theoretical criticisms from many academic disciplines. It is grounded in discourse analysis, gendered language use theory, dominance and difference approaches to speech theory, and postmodern feminist theory. Bird's feminine perspective is marked by an attention to domestic details, identification of feminine traits in others and a poetic style. Salak's writing includes themes of objectifying men, exhibiting her determined nature, subjectively presuming the thoughts of women, domesticity, and approaching obstacles with a pragmatic attitude.
Degree
M.A.
Thesis Department
Rights
OpenAccess.
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