Analysis of woman images in the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie By Muriel Spark and The Life and Loves of a She-devil By Fay Weldon

This thesis analyses the woman images and roles in two contemporary novels, Muriel Spark?s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Fay Weldon?s The Life and Loves of a She-Devil. The novels are examined by feminist psychoanalytic approach and the mental attitudes appropriate for the social contexs of the different time periods mentioned.The first chapter deals with women?s writing in general in the world of literature. It flows through from the development of woman?s position in society to the current position of women?s writing. What women?s writing is explained and the contributions of some important people to it are also mentioned. In addition, the psychanalytic theories about the formation of gender roles and identity acquisiton are emphasized to explain the differences between women and men better.The second chapter deals with the authors, Muriel Spark and Fay Weldon. Their writing careers, writing styles and techniques, and the popular works of these famous woman writers, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Life and Loves of a She-Devil are mentioned.In the third chapter, the novels Muriel Spark?s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Fay Weldon?s The Life and Loves of a She-Devil are deeply analyzed. The protagonists and other minor characters are introduced and the themes concerning woman images and roles are discussed. In this chapter, there are also comparisons of the protagonists? characters and their roles as woman.At the end of this study, it is concluded that the authors, Weldon and Spark, explore the imperfect lies of romantic fictions and try to show the reader how stereotypes of femininity are formed by men. They both speak for strong exceptional woman characters challenging their secondary roles assigned by masculine power. These women characters in the novels go through many experiences during which they sometimes deal with the patriarchal system but mostly with the other women whom the protagonists consider the unattainable and perfect as the sign of independent females. At the end of these experiences, the protagonists seem to reach their goals, but deep inside what they gain is a failure rather than a real success since they lose their ambition in life with the death of their rivals, the self-confident and independent women, who were the main objects of their living.Key Words: woman images, women?s writing, Muriel Spark, Fay Weldon.