Graduation Date
5-2018
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department or Program
Graduate Humanities
Department or Program Chair
Joan Baranow, PhD
First Reader
Judy Halebsky, PhD
Second Reader
Thomas Burke, MFA
Abstract
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald (1900-1948) is widely regarded as the first flapper of the Roaring 20s and is often recognized for her tumultuous marriage to acclaimed American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. As a female icon whose life was filled with salacious incidences and mental struggles, the image of Zelda continues to be reinterpreted in various movies, television series, and novels. However, very few center on her artistic pursuits of writing, painting, or dancing and how her desires to contribute to the art world were overshadowed and disrupted by her successful husband. Therese Anne Fowler’s Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (2013), a novel of biographical fiction, revisits the image of Zelda and gives agency to her image as an artist. This thesis explores the intersection of biography and fiction in Fowler’s novel in an attempt to call attention to Zelda’s identity as an artist rather than solely her historical position as wife and mother. Building upon biographies written by Nancy Milford and Sally Cline, this thesis argues for Fowler’s depiction of Zelda, one that is embedded in the New Woman identity of the 1920s. The resulting novel gives autonomy to Zelda and aids in reshaping her image for a modern 21st century audience.
Included in
Fiction Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Nonfiction Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons