Date of Award
Spring 6-13-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in English
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, English and Literary Arts
First Advisor
W. Scott Howard
Second Advisor
Patrick Cottrell
Third Advisor
Rachel Feder
Fourth Advisor
Frédérique Chevillot
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Autotheory, Early modern literature, Magaret Cavendish, Revivification, Self-love, Women, Feminism
Abstract
Margaret Cavendish was an early modern Englishwoman writer who lived from 1623 to 1673. She wrote under her own name at a time when it was more common for women to write under a pen name, and published almost everything she wrote. Her writings include a multiplicity of genres, from science fiction, poetry, drama, and philosophy, to letters, biography, and autobiography. Cavendish’s style often blends multiple genres and forms, showcasing a modality that is driven by complexity and hybridity. Cavendish was a surprisingly modern figure in many ways, as her writings show. The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing World (1666) is an early example of science fiction. Her closet drama The Convent of Pleasure (1668) is richly layered with, and can be read through the lenses of, both feminism and queer theory. She explored her beliefs on natural and experimental philosophy in multiple places (Philosophical letters, 1664; Grounds of Natural Philosophy, 1668; Observations upon Experimental Philosophy, 1666) at a time when very few women were writing on the subject. Most notable to me is her refreshingly modern opinion on self-love, which she writes about in The World’s Olio (1655), that defines self-love as the wellspring of all human goodness. Cavendish was a unique and iconic author who cared deeply about how her works were perceived and wrote extensive epistles to her readers and critics. Contemporary readers will find that Cavendish’s world is effervescent, curious, and surprisingly modern.
Copyright Date
6-2025
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Marina Burandt
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
214 pgs
File Size
1.1 MB
Recommended Citation
Burandt, Marina, "Margaret Cavendish and Radical Self-Love" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2550.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2550
Included in
Creative Writing Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons