The "hybrid hero" in western dime novels: an analysis of women's gender performance, dress, and identity in the Deadwood Dick series
Date
2012
Authors
Moon, Cameron, author
Ogle, Jennifer, advisor
Sanders, Eulanda, committee member
Carlson, Linda, committee member
Brady, Tracy, committee member
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Abstract
As rapid urbanization and growth in the 19th century pushed families westward, men and women often found themselves sharing in domestic and work-related activities. In turn, these changes in gender roles brought about attendant changes in norms for gendered dress behaviors, particularly for women. One valuable window into the lives of 19th century Americans can be found in the American dime novel. Though they are fictionalized accounts of western characters' exploits, dime novels are grounded in some historical fact, and thus, they can provide rich understanding of frontier life. Thus, this research was undertaken to gain an understanding of dime novels' reflection of 19th century American society, including women's negotiation of frontier life through the manipulation of gender, dress, and appearance. More specifically, the purpose of this research was to explore how dress - including cross-dressing and androgynous dress - is used by dime novel authors to construct meanings about gender and identity. The research was informed by the works of Judith Butler and Erving Goffman on performativity and by reflection theory, which are useful for understanding the complex relationships between society and literature. Five western dime novels from the Deadwood Dick series, authored by Edward Wheeler between 1877 and 1885, were selected for analysis. Data were collected by extracting all references to women's appearances, including dress and the situated body, within the texts of the selected novels. Data were analyzed using the thematic analysis approach to narrative inquiry. Analyses revealed the importance of dress and gender performance as a means of situating female characters in their geographic and bodily spaces and places on the frontier. Whether female characters used traditional feminine dress, androgynous dress, or cross-dressing, there was evidence of shifting gender norms and gendered dress behaviors throughout the series. The majority of female characters in the Deadwood Dick series wore traditional feminine dress and performed in conventional ways, reinforcing traditional gender binaries. Consistent with the Cult of True Womanhood, the virtues of piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity were embodied in these performances. However, there were instances in which female characters were forced to act outside the private sphere and to alter their dress and gender performances. The duality of characters’ gendered role behaviors in these situations supports Cogan's (1989) notion of Real Womanhood, which provides an expanded view of women’s roles. The female protagonist of the series, Calamity Jane, adopted androgynous dress as a means by which to navigate and participate in the male-dominated public sphere with ease, confidence and power. Despite receiving negative reviews of her androgynous dress, Calamity made no alterations to her dress or performance, allowing her to challenge traditional gender binaries, to gain empowerment, and to maintain a nontraditional gender identity. As the series progressed and the 19th century came to close, issues of androgynous dress became less of a focal point in the series, revealing perhaps that nontraditional gender performances became more acceptable. Female characters utilized cross-dressing as a means of navigating temporary changes in space and place, such as westward movement, and for participating in the public sphere. Two uses of cross-dressing were discovered: cross-dressing for disguise and cross-dressing for survival. Cross-dressing for disguise was typically undertaken for purposes of rescuing others and solving wrong-doings, whereas cross-dressing for survival was enacted for purposes of escaping a male character. Although cross-dressing for purposes of disguise was presented as a more acceptable form of cross-dressing, for the most part, characters who cross-dressed were able to gain empowerment through their performances. Findings provide insight into ways in which westering and pioneer women, both fictional and real, utilized appearance and gender performance to navigate and negotiate a multiplicity of geographic and bodily locations. Androgynous dress and cross-dressing allowed female characters to be "hybrid heroes" in that they participated in different plots by creating multiple identities through changes in appearance (Jones, 1978). The findings provide further knowledge about changing gender performances in the 19th century and are consistent with previous work about real-life pioneers, thus supporting reflection theory.
Description
Rights Access
Subject
gender
androgyny
appearance
cross-dressing
dime novel
dress