The invisible dance : persistence of the Turkish harem in Oscar Wilde's Salomé

dc.contributor.advisorRichmond-Garza, Elizabeth M. (Elizabeth Merle), 1964-en
dc.contributor.committeeMemberHoad, Nevilleen
dc.creatorTarlaci, Fatmaen
dc.date.accessioned2010-11-29T19:10:06Zen
dc.date.available2010-11-29T19:10:06Zen
dc.date.available2010-11-29T19:10:16Zen
dc.date.issued2010-05en
dc.date.submittedMay 2010en
dc.date.updated2010-11-29T19:10:16Zen
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractVarious representations of the figure of Salomé and the Biblical legend have been produced in the European, specifically in the English literature and arts throughout the nineteenth century. Oscar Wilde’s 1891 dramatic version of the legend in many ways epitomizes the full potential of the legend and capitalizes on the period’s fascination with the Orient. The climax of the orientalism of the play, the Dance of the Seven Veils, offers a unique reflection on European fantasies about the harem and invites a comparison to Ottoman representations of this same cultural space. This project seeks to analyze the relation between the Dance of the Seven Veils as presented by Wilde, and the figure of dancing woman in the harem of the Ottoman Empire. It is the slippage between the two which has informed various representations of the Oriental female figure in the West. The gap that emerges between the Western representations and the real practices in the harem, allows for a focused critique of Orientalist practices while recovering, in some ways, the actual experience of Muslim women.The vision of the harem that the Dance of the Seven Veils in Wilde’s Salomé offers is informed not by an actual encounter, but by the image of the harem as understood in nineteenth century English culture. At the same time, it participates in Victorian feminist debates on liberating the oppressed harem woman from her veils, her sexualization, and her objectification. Ultimately the dance functions as a reaffirmation of conventional gender roles as understood in Victorian society.en
dc.description.departmentComparative Literatureen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2010-05-1344en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.subjectDance of the Seven Veilsen
dc.subjectSaloméen
dc.subjectTurkish haremen
dc.subjectOrientalismen
dc.subjectFeminismen
dc.subjectOscar Wildeen
dc.subjectOttoman Empireen
dc.subjectVeilingen
dc.subjectVictorian feministsen
dc.subjectVictorian societyen
dc.subjectEnglanden
dc.subjectEast/Westen
dc.titleThe invisible dance : persistence of the Turkish harem in Oscar Wilde's Saloméen
dc.type.genrethesisen
thesis.degree.departmentComparative Literatureen
thesis.degree.disciplineComparative Literatureen
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Texas at Austinen
thesis.degree.levelMastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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