Myths of women in contemporary dystopian novels: Louise O'Neill's "Only Ever Yours", Christina Dalcher's "Vox", and Leni Zumas's "Red Clocks"

The present Master's thesis aims to develop a better understanding of how patriarchial myths of femininity have affected female characters in contemporary feminist dystopian literature. The term "Dystopia" was first used in the late 19th century in opposition to Utopia. Eventually, dystopian as well as utopian novels began to be written by female writers, and their aim was not only to challenge utopian literature but to voice concerns regarding women's issues. The first of these novels was arguably Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (1985), which went on to have an important impact on feminist dystopian literature. In this context, this thesis will focus on three contemporary novels, Only Ever Yours (2014), Red Clocks (2018) and Vox (2018), which will be analysed from a feminist perspective, based primarily, although not exclusively, on Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949).