| dc.description.abstract | This thesis focuses on the ways in which Christianity seeks to limit lesbian
subjectivity in three novels: Alice Walker's The Color Purple (1982), Oranges Are Not the
Only Fruit (1985) by Jeanette Winterson, and What Night Brings (2003) by Carla
Trujillo. Despite variations in place, culture, and belonging, these three novels share a
basic Christian ideology that is patriarchal and homophobic, a repressive ideology within
and against which each novel's protagonist struggles to assert her lesbian identity. My
first chapter, "Redefining the Boundaries of Spirituality: Celie's Discovery of Lesbian
Desire as an Alternative Spiritual Path in The Color Purple," explores the way that Celie's
conceptualization of God changes from the Baptist model of a punishing white male
figure to a more feminine God who parallels her love relationship with Shug. I argue
that their lesbian connection is a catalyst for spiritual transformation. My second
chapter, "Embracing Forbidden Fruit: Jeanette's Journey Away From God in Oranges Are
Not the Only Fruit." discusses the Evangelical church's attempts to "cure" Jeanette of
her sexual deviance and to force her to suppress her "otherness." I argue that this
ultimately leads to rebellion against the church in favour of her lesbian identity. My third
chapter, "Away from Anatomy, Towards Desire: Lesbian Yearnings vs. Religious
Ideology in W hat Night Brings," focuses on prayer and confession as they parallel
Marci's struggle to come to terms with her "deviant" sexuality. I argue that Marci is able
to defy both her family and the Catholic Church in favour of sexual freedom and an
intensely personal, individualistic form of spirituality. Throughout the analysis that
follows, this thesis shows how each character develops a stable identity beyond the
confines of her familial ties to religion and creates a space for herself that promotes new
forms of subjectivity and truth. | |
