East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 8-2008 The volutE ion of Feminine Loyalty Trends in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Appalachian Literature. Candace Jean Daniel East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Daniel, Candace Jean, "The vE olution of Feminine Loyalty Trends in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Appalachian Literature." (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1954. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1954 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Evolution of Feminine Loyalty Trends in Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Appalachian Literature _____________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of English East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Arts in English _____________________ by Candace J. Daniel August 2008 _____________________ Dr. Mark Holland, Chair Dr. Theresa Lloyd Dr. Ronald Giles Keywords: loyalty, identity, Appalachian literature, Appalachia, family, husband ABSTRACT The Evolution of Feminine Loyalty Trends in Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Appalachian Literature by Candace J. Daniel Loyalty to the self, family, and husband create interesting tensions for feminine characters in Appalachian literature. Traditional views of loyalty dictate that the Appalachian woman chooses to be loyal to her husband and family while abandoning her self loyalty. Appalachian women writers define the terms of loyalty and the conflicts these three levels create. Furthermore, studying a progression of novels from 1926 to the present shows that feminine loyalty trends have changed. This argument focuses on examining loyalty trends of feminine Appalachian characters, studying the contentions among those loyalties, specifically showing how loyalty patterns have changed in literature, and offering speculation on why these loyalty patterns have changed progressively in Appalachian literature. The study includes five Appalachian novels: The Time of Man by Elizabeth Madox Roberts, The Dollmaker by Harriette Arnow, Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina, Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, and The Midwife’s Tale by Gretchen Morgan Laskas. 2 DEDICATION For Brenda, Pamela, Cledia, Claudine, Suzie, and Maggie, Appalachian women who defied tradition in their own ways. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis grew from a rich assortment of influences. I would like to thank Dr. John Baker of Concord University for his research assistance and moral support. Also, I would like to thank my father, Ernest Day, for numerous hours dedicated to typing my handwritten notes. I express my gratitude to Brenda Day for her moral support and for her research assistance, as well as Pamela Simpson for keeping me company on my many trips to the library. Lastly, and most important, I would like to thank Dr. Holland for his guidance and patience throughout this long composition process, Dr. Lloyd for her input and expertise, and Dr. Ronald Giles, a true master of the English language, who made sure my meaning was expressed in exactly the right words. CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 2 DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………….. ... 7 2. THE TIME OF MAN......................................................................................................... 18 Loyalty to Self............................................................................................................ 18 Loyalty to Husband.............................................................................................. 23 Loyalty to Family…………………………………………………………... 27 3. THE DOLLMAKER.......................................................................................................... 35 Loyalty to Self............................................................................................................ 36 Loyalty to Husband ............................................................................................. 39 Loyalty to Family…………………………………………………………... 43 4. STORMING HEAVEN ..................................................................................................... 50 Loyalty to Self ........................................................................................................... 51 Loyalty to Husband ............................................................................................. 55 Loyalty to Family…………………………………………………………... 59 5. PRODIGAL SUMMER..................................................................................................... 63 Loyalty to Self ........................................................................................................... 64 Loyalty to Husband/lover ................................................................................... 70 Loyalty to Family…………………………………………………………... 76 6. THE MIDWIFE’S TALE ................................................................................................. 84 Loyalty to Self ........................................................................................................... 85 5 Chapter Page Loyalty to Husband/lover ................................................................................... 89 Loyalty to Family………………………………………………………………. 92 7. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 99 WORKS CITED .................................................................................................................... 109 VITA ..................................................................................................................................... 117 6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In Appalachian literature, loyalty encompasses spouse, family, children, friends, and community. Nineteenth century Appalachian females are self-sacrificing for the good of their families, consistently abandoning their own desires and ambitions. Loyalty to the people around them takes precedence over loyalty to themselves. This nineteenth century character trait reflects the cult of domesticity ideology. Interestingly, because of the cult of domesticity, the idea of loyalty to the self is often absent in early versions of these courageous characters, yet it becomes a motivating force for later characters. The twentieth century, in literature, marked a dramatic change for both women writers and their literary characters. Elizabeth Ammons explains that a “large consequence of grouping turn-of-the-century women writers is the creation of new perspectives on what we believe is already firmly established” (viii). The new century began to bring women’s writing outside of the cult of domesticity. Martha J. Cutter explains, “it was not until the beginning of the twentieth century, when the New Woman emerged fully onto the scene of American culture, that the domestic voice was finally laid to rest” (14). Furthermore, this change in ideology is represented in literature. Twentieth century Appalachian characters battle with definitions of loyalty to themselves, husbands, and families, whereas under the cult of domesticity, these loyalties were clearly defined. Cutter notes that one characteristic of New Women is that they “insisted on independent identities” (19). The development of an independent identity for women is represented in Appalachian literature. This study examines three types of loyalty for female Appalachian characters: self, husband, and family. The study views characters as the novels were chronologically published to show the changes in female loyalty through the twentieth and into the twenty-first century. 7 Initially, some Appalachian women are loyal to themselves. Self loyalty can be defined as choosing to do what the self feels is right or wants to do in any given situation. Moreover, self loyalty is a reflection of identity; however, defining the term identity is complicated. Norman N. Holland says that identity is “the whole pattern of sameness within change which is a human life….That is, I am constantly changing but, no matter how much I change, there remains a continuing me who is the style that permeates all those changes and whom I understand as that which remains constant despite all the changes” (452). Obviously, loyalty to the self is part of identity. As Holland points out, part of identity is an element that “remains constant despite all…changes” (452). As the women in this study discover their identity or their “pattern[s] of sameness[,]” they also discover the extent of their loyalty to that identity (452). They create and discover their identities long before they marry or have children. For example,