The family novel in North America from post-war to post-millennium [Elektronische Ressource] : a study in genre / vorgelegt von Kerstin Dell

Universität Trier Fachbereich II Anglistik/Amerikanistik (Literaturwissenschaft) The Family Novel in North America from Post-War to Post-Millennium: A Study in Genre Schriftliche Prüfungsarbeit zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde Vorgelegt von: Kerstin Dell, M.A., M.A. Töpferstraße 41 54290 Trier 0651 / 9989597 Kerstin.Dell@gmx.de Die Arbeit wurde betreut von: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Klooß, Erstkorrektor Prof. Dr. Gerd Hurm, Zweitkorrektor 2ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to Bischöfliche Studienförderung Cusanuswerk for supporting so generously the completion of this project. Also, I am very much indebted to Jonathan Franzen for kindly consenting to give me an interview. I wish to thank my family and friends for their encouragement and care. Thanks to Dr. Christine Spies for helpful proofreading. Last but not least I thank Martin for his love. 3 To the memory of my father, Hermann J. Dell, who always believed in me. 4TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction p. 5 II. Answering the Question: What Is a Family Novel? p. 172.1 Pride and Prejudice: The State of Criticism p. 172.2 Realism, Conflict, Decline? Ru’s Structuralist Taxonomy p. 262.3 (Re-) Defining the Family Novel p. 31 III. Parent Figures: Functions and Symbolic Potential p. 383.1 The Mother Figure in Fiction p. 383.2 The Father Figure in Fiction p.