Date of Award
Spring 2025
Language
English
Embargo Period
5-27-2027
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
College/School/Department
Department of English
Program
English
First Advisor
Jeffrey Berman
Second Advisor
Mary Valentis
Keywords
memoir, addiction, addiction narratives
Subject Categories
English Language and Literature
Abstract
This thesis examines the portrayal of women’s narratives about their struggles with drinking through a feminist lens, focusing on how these stories diverge from, challenge, and, in some cases, reaffirm male-centric alcoholism and recovery narratives. Drawing on feminist theory and research on gender and addiction, this thesis will look at the intersection of gender roles and women's experiences with alcoholism, highlighting the unique challenges women face as they navigate societal expectations, mental illness, and trauma. The development of the masculinist narrative of alcoholism and recovery, particularly the dominance of the Alcoholics Anonymous narrative, will be considered, as well as its implications for women seeking help and self-determination within a patriarchal construct. Fictional portrayals of women grappling with alcoholic drinking, including Brett Ashley in The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway and Sasha Jansen in Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys, as well as the life and work of photojournalist Lee Miller, will be explored for what they reveal about the promise and peril of women’s changing status after World War I and their drinking as an expression and annihilator of their freedom. Contemporary memoirs by Caroline Knapp, Leslie Jamison, and Mary Karr about their alcoholism and recovery are examined for their groundbreaking impact on storytelling that is informed by feminism, the self-help movement, and a greater societal understanding of addiction and mental illness. Through these stories, this thesis will trace the development of women’s alcoholism and recovery narratives in the 20th and 21st centuries and show how women’s experiences and narratives are helping to reshape the addiction discourse today in literature and culture.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Valenti, Clorinda, "‘Abnormal Thirst’: A Feminist Perspective on Addiction Narratives in 20th and 21st Century Literature" (2025). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 199.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/199
