Virginhood: Does the Laodicean Heroine Represent a Dead-End to “Becoming a Woman”, or a Valuable Subversion of the Female Bildungsroman?

Campbell, Olivia

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Virginhood: Does the Laodicean Heroine Represent a Dead-End to “Becoming a Woman”, or a Valuable Subversion of the Female Bildungsroman?

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Campbell, Olivia (2024) Virginhood: Does the Laodicean Heroine Represent a Dead-End to “Becoming a Woman”, or a Valuable Subversion of the Female Bildungsroman? PhD thesis, University of Gloucestershire. doi:10.46289/TSZY2533

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15509 Campbell, Olivia (2024) Virginhood - does the Laodicean Heroine Represent a Dead-End to 'Becoming a Woman', or a Valuable Subversion of the Female Bilgundsroman.pdf - Accepted Version
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Official URL: https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/15509

Abstract

This thesis is split into two separate pieces – Virginhood, a creative exploration of the literary legacy established by the Neurasthenic, the Drabble Heroines, and the Dissociative Feminists – followed by a critical analysis of the question, ‘Does the Laodicean Heroine Represent a Dead-End to “Becoming a Woman”, or a Valuable Subversion of the Female Bildungsroman?’ Virginhood tells the story of Clara, whose life has worked out rather well, in spite of her better judgement. A product of her time, Clara navigates her own sexual liberation and self-subjugation, her potential and her lack of will, along with her similarities and differences to the world as she perceives it to be. Fascinated by the evolving social scene of 1960s London, but also duty-bound to the time that came before, she embodies the confused values, the shimmering newness of it all and the fusty, old structures beneath. From a polite love affair in Italy with Henry to the temptations of anonymity in Rome and London, the horror of insignificance in Luton and village shows, and the appeal of self-destruction rather than transformation, Clara portrays her experience of becoming and unbecoming a woman. ‘Does the Laodicean Heroine Represent a Dead-End to “Becoming a Woman”, or a Valuable Subversion of the Female Bildungsroman?’ focuses on Clara’s literary DNA: the Laodicean Heroine, which is a recurring archetype in 20th and 21st-century literature, film, and television. This study explores whether this archetype signifies a stagnation in feminine advancement or serves as a catalyst for societal evolution. Despite facing escalating criticism for her perceived emotional languor, disinterest in progress, solipsistic tendencies, and amorality, the Laodicean Heroine is posited as holding intrinsic value for audiences. By reexamining the complex relationship between feminism, essentialism, and the use of the Bildungsroman form to depict the ‘ultimate aim’ of womanhood, this study contends that the Laodicean Heroine – and, by extension, Clara – serves as a facilitating identifier, occupying a liminal space between one version of the self and the next.

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Thesis (PhD)

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