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Date of Award
5-2010
Access Type
Campus Access
Document type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
English - American Studies
First Advisor
Deborah Carlin
Second Advisor
Randall Knoper
Third Advisor
Joyce Avrech Berkman
Subject Categories
American Literature | American Studies | Women's Studies
Abstract
Chapter Four begins to detail the shift from postbellum activism to consumerism as the prevalent ideology for girls by examining Edward Stratemeyer's innovations in the series book market. Stratemeyer combined the traditional series format with production techniques borrowed from story paper and dime novel publishers. He was also one of the first to recognize adolescents as a distinct market group with money to spend. Finally, Chapter Five examines the Patty Fairfield, Grace Harlowe, and Outdoor Girls series for the ways in which they communicate both excitement and anxiety about the new culture of consumption. Girl heroines exercise agency as consumers and develop individuality through their purchases, gaining a considerable amount of individual autonomy while they lose some of their status as spiritual leaders. Girl heroines learn to be responsible consumers and enjoy the pleasures of individual consumption, but series authors also warn against desiring money and material goods simply for their own sake.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/5670225
Recommended Citation
Honey, Emily A, "From Spiritual Guides To Eager Consumers: American Girls’ Series Fiction, 1865-1930" (2010). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 176.
https://doi.org/10.7275/5670225
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/176