University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations December 2015 Retrograde Returns of the American Housewife: Reimagining an Old Character in a New Millennium Ruth Emelia Wollersheim University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Wollersheim, Ruth Emelia, "Retrograde Returns of the American Housewife: Reimagining an Old Character in a New Millennium" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 1094. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1094 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. RETROGRADE RETURNS OF THE AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE: REIMAGINING AN OLD CHARACTER IN A NEW MILLENNIUM by Ruth Wollersheim A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee December 2015 ABSTRACT RETROGRADE RETURNS OF THE AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE: REIMAGINING AN OLD CHARACTER IN A NEW MILLENIUM by Ruth Wollersheim The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015 Under the Supervision of Professor Patrice Petro This dissertation explores the immensely popular return of the housewife character in the twenty-first century. From films like The Stepford Wives (2004), to television dramas like Desperate Housewives (2004-2012) and The Good Wife (2009- ), to reality shows like Wife Swap (2004- ), Bravo’s The Real Housewives franchise (2006- ), Basketball Wives (2010- ), Mob Wives (2011- ), and most recently on the blogosphere with personalities like The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, the housewife character has reentered our imaginations on a mass scale.