Defense Date
5-1-2024
Graduation Date
Summer 8-10-2024
Availability
Immediate Access
Submission Type
dissertation
Degree Name
PhD
Department
English
School
McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
Committee Chair
Judy Suh
Committee Member
Linda Kinnahan
Committee Member
John Mitcham
Keywords
20th century British literature, fascism, nazism, Holocaust, narrative, violence
Abstract
Narrative Forms of Violence: Fascism, Nazism, and The Holocaust in 20th-Century British Fiction examines how British authors explore fascist and Nazi violence through narrative. The texts in this project challenge the popular perception of Nazis and fascists and help to enrich the understanding of these character types in artistic representations of fascism and the Holocaust. I seek to reveal how each author in the three central texts examined presents fascist violence’s march toward the mainstream and the ways ordinary people deal with political violence. Each author critically depicts growing fascist regimes in World War II-era Europe and contemplates the effects of fascist power and violence on the common citizen. Nancy Mitford and Christopher Isherwood both portray the early days of fascism and its spread across Europe through fictionalizing personal experiences, while D. M. Thomas looks back on fascist violence using narrative innovations that put the reader in the mindsets of both victim and perpetrator. Though their narrative forms differ stylistically and tonally, all the narratives in this project represent forms of violence explicit in World War II and demonstrate how narrative can act as both a warning about fascist violence and a remembrance of its victims.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Young, D. (2024). NARRATIVE FORMS OF VIOLENCE: FASCISM, NAZISM, AND THE HOLOCAUST IN 20TH-CENTURY BRITISH FICTION (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/2365