Hollow her out: Gendered corporeality and violence in Edna O'Brien's "Down by the River".

This thesis combines literary representation of hollow feminine bodies with contemporary cases of patriarchal authority over woman's bodies. Attorney General v. X (1992), an abortion case reflected in O'Brien's Down by the river (1998), outlines the control Irish courts hold over women. Because notions of hollow feminine bodies, or female bodies as vessels for political, religious and filial meaning are longstanding, their effects on female body identity are ultimately excessive. I outline how patriarchal political and religious constructions divide feminine experience by separating the feminine body from feminine identity. Aligning women with Ireland herself, the thesis illustrates an entrenched ideology of Irish feminine insecurity over possession of self and body. Ireland is an interesting case study because inseparable politics and religion create unavoidable, violent, and forceful oppressions of woman's agency. Colonization of feminine bodies further perpetuates the repressive culture of gendered corporeality, and validates masculine authority's possession of bodies as vehicles for cultural transference.