Date of Award
1-1-2011
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences
First Advisor
W Scott Howard, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Jan Gorak
Third Advisor
Ingrid Tague
Keywords
Cavendish, Consciousness, Descartes, Hobbes, Newcastle, Panpsychism
Abstract
Writing at a time when women had few property rights, were given scarce educational opportunities, and were viewed as incorrigibly irrational, the largely autodidactic English intellectual Margaret Cavendish is fascinated by knowledge and how to secure for herself a place in the micro- as well as macrocosmic community of letters. In particular, Cavendish holds an abiding interest in what we now call "consciousness" which she attributes to every piece of matter. Throughout the universe, the three aspects of matter--inanimate, sensate, and rational--are omnipresent. While throughout all of Cavendish's eclectic literary creation, consciousness is the unifying principle. Her exploration of consciousness manifests itself across genres--in scenes from her fiction, in the themes of her poetry, in her philosophical principles, and in her explanations of the natural world. I maintain that although this is not commonly recognized, Cavendish's principle of pervasive consciousness is a premise throughout her writings.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Cynthia Lynne Rogan de Ramirez
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
en
File Size
93 p.
Recommended Citation
Rogan de Ramirez, Cynthia Lynne, "Margaret Cavendish's Exploration of Consciousness in Her Writings" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 558.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/558
Copyright date
2011
Discipline
Literature, Philosophy