Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Kelsky, Jaime L.
URN	etd-11122004-174039
Title	What Happened to Mother? Patriarchy, Oppression, and Reconciliation in Janet Fitch's _White Oleander_
Degree	Master of Arts
Department	English, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title R. Bruce Bickley Committee Chair Anne E. Rowe Committee Member John Fenstermaker Committee Member
Keywords	Double Oppression Matriarchy Foster Care Mother-Daughter Relationship Motherhood Fantasy Mother
Date of Defense	2004-11-09
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Janet Fitch's _White Oleander_ is a complex novel that on the surface appears to be about Astrid’s journey from one foster home to the next. The complexity of the novel, however, lies within the relationships between Astrid and the women in her world and how these relationships are actually framed by the men in the novel. The tensions among the women in _White Oleander_ are especially, though not exclusively, a consequence of their relationships with men. The first chapter examines the role that patriarchy plays in the novel and the effect it has on the women. The second chapter analyzes the notion of double oppression. Double oppression occurs in _White Oleander_ insofar as the male characters oppress the female characters, and in return the female characters displace their oppression onto Astrid. In the third chapter, I discuss the notion of fantasy mother and how Fitch depicts the fantasy mother in _White Oleander_. In the last chapter, I examine the reconciliation process between Astrid and Ingrid.
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