• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

WOMEN IN THE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN MYSTERY NOVEL: A STUDY IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE Kathleen M. Carroll, Ph.D. The University of Connecticut, 196*4 This study examines the portrayal of women in the contemporary American mystery novel. One out of every four books sold today is a mystery novel, but very little research has been done on the treatment of women characters in mystery fiction. Most of the research on mystery novels has focused on the history of the mystery and the role or function of this form of fiction. The work that has been done on women in mystery novels has mainly looked at single authors, or at the woman detective. This study examines both women detectives and nondetectives, the latter group being far more numerous than the former. The study also looks at the relationship between certain author characteristics—such as an author's sex, age, or country of origin—and the treatment of male and female characters in Kathleen M. Carroll—The University of Connecticut, 1984 mystery novels. A sample of 163 mystery novels from three time periods—1955, 1965, and 1975—was randomly selected, and each of the sample novels was content analyzed. The content analysis included a code sheet for each major and secondary character in the novels. Notes on the plots and themes employed in the novels were also taken. The findings indicate that men and women characters in mystery novels are portrayed very differently, and that the characterization of women is heavily influenced by the traditional sexrole stereotypes. Women characters in mystery novels are generally portrayed as passive, dependent, and emotional, while men characters are portrayed as active, aggressive, and instrumental. The characterization of the two sexes changed little over the three sample periods. The findings also show that some author variables affect gender portrayal in mystery novels. For example, women authors, single authors, and college-educated authors tend to employ less sexrole stereotyping in their mystery novels. Two questions for future research are suggested. WOMEN IN THE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN MYSTERY NOVEL A STUDY IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE Kathleen M. Carroll B • A • f The University of Connecticut, 1976 M.A., The University of Connecticut, 1979 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Connecticut 1984 Copyright by Kathleen M. Carroll 1984 APPROVAL PAGE Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation WOMEN IN THE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN MYSTERY NOVEL: A STUDY IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE Presented by Kathleen M. Carroll, B.Ai, M.A. Major Adviser Associate Adviser — James V. DeFron^cT Associa te Adviser * Kenneth P. Hadden The University of Connecticut 1984 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ............................ iv Chapter 1: A History of the Sociology of Literature .... 1 Endnotes .................. 25 Chapter 2: The Sociology of Literature and the Mystery Novel...... 26 Endnotes ............ 53 Chapter 3: Women Characters in Popular Literature .... 58 Endnotes .............................................. 88 Chapter 4: Women in Mystery Novels .............. 92 Endnotes ....................................... Ill Chapter 5: Research Questions and Research Methods ... 114 Endnotes .................................... 125 Chapter 6: Research Findings ............... 128 Endnote ................................ 167 Chapter 7: Recurrent Themes in the Characterization of Men and Women in Mystery Novels ...... 168 Endnotes ............................................. 213 Chapter 8: Summary and Conclusions ................. 223 Endnotes ..................... 268 Appendix A: Women and the Mass Media .................. 272 Appendix B: Code Sheets .... 281 Appendix C: Sample Novels ............. 286 References ................................. 298 - iii - LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1: Percent of Male and Female Characters by Year .................................... 129 Table 2: Character Type by Character Sex for all Samples .............. 129 Table 3: Character Type by Character Sex by Year ... 130 Table 4: Character Occupation by Character Sex ..... 131 Table 5: Character Occupation by Character Sex by Year .................................... 132 Table 6: Character Age by Character Sex for all Samples .................................... 134 Table 7: Character Age by Character Sex by Year .... 135 Table 5: Character Age Category by Character Sex ..... 136 Table 9: Character Age Category by Character Sex by Year ........................ 136 Table 10: Character Marital Status by Character Sex ... 137 Table 11: Character Marital Status by Character Sex by Year .................................... 139 Table 12: Character Parenting Status by Character Sex for all Samples ............................ 140 Table 13: Character Parenting Status by Character Sex by Year ............................. 140 Table 14: Character Role by Character Sex for all Samples ............................... 142 Table 15: Character Role by Character Sex by Year ..... 143 Table 16: Other Victimizations by Character Sex for all Samples ............................. 144 Table 17: Character Behaviors by Character Sex ...... 145 - iv - Table 18: Character Behaviors by Character Sex by Year 147 Table 19: Author Variables by Year ................... 149 Table 20: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Sex for all Samples ........ 153 Table 21: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Sex by Year ..... ......... 153 Table 22: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Age for all Samples ............ 155 Table 23: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Age by Year ........ ........... 156 Table 24: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Education for all Samples ...... 157 Table 25: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Education by Year ............. 158 Table 26: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Occupation for all Samples ..... 158 Table 27: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Marital Status for all Samples .... 160 Table 28: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Country for all Samples ........... 160 Table 29: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Country by Year ................... 161 Table 30: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Prior Number of Mysteries ......... 162 Table 31: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Prior Number of Mysteries (collapsed) .......... ..................... 163 Table 32: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Prior Number of Mysteries by Year .. 163 Table 33: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Mystery Style for all Samples ..... 164 Table 34: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author's Use of Pseudonym for all Samples ... 165 Table 35: Female Character Sexrole Stereotyping by Author’s Use of Pseudonym by Year .......... 166 Chapter I A HISTORY OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE The Study of Literature in European Sociology The sociology of literature, as a distinct subfield within sociology, is thought to have emerged in the year 1800 with the publication of De la lltterature consideree dans ses rapports avec les Institutions sociales by Madame de Stael (1766-1817). In the first sentence of this work, de Stael set forth her intentions in writing this volume: "My purpose is to examine the influence of religion, custom, and law upon literature, and the influence of literature upon religion, custom, and law" (quoted from Berger, 1977:198). To achieve her goal, de Stael examined the literature of several ancient and modern European countries, and offered a series of observations concerning the relationships between literature and climate, literature and geography, and literature and a rather vague factor which she labeled national character. Among her observations were the notions that Northern climates were more likely to produce melancholy writers and those whose literature was dominated by a "passionate sadness," while Southern climates tended to produce literature that was characterized by "coolness, dense woods and limpid streams" (quoted from Laurenson and Swingewood, 1972:27). 1 2 Equal in importance to climate was "national character" which she argued was determined by a complex interaction between a nation's religious, legal, and political systems. The interaction of these three institutions resulted in a national spirit which influenced each society's literature. However, de Stael, while at least in part advancing a social explanation for the variations in literature which she perceived from country to country, offered no method for analyzing the relationship between social structure and literature, and did not provide a clear definition of her meaning of national character. Thus while Madame de Stael is credited with the first "explicit attempt to treat literature sociologically" (Burns and Burns, 1973:10), her efforts were not universally regarded as successful and, in fact, the honor of being the central figure in the conjunction between sociology and literature is usually awarded to another French citizen, Hippolyte Taine. Hippolyte Taine (1828-1893) was a scientific positivist. Like his predecessor, Auguste Corate, Taine strove to place sociology in line with the natural sciences. In his writings, he attempted to find the "laws" or the "invariable relations of succession and resemblance" (Comte, 1896:Vol.1:2) that governed the production of literature and art in a society.

Load more

  322

Copy Link