Complexion Changes in Victorian Literature

My Capstone

Since taking Eng 401: Fiction and being introduced to the beautiful world of Victorian fiction, I've found myself very interested in the vocabulary and semantic patterns used during that time period. The rich and beautiful language is one of the most noticable traits of this type of fiction. As I've read more novels spanning from the early sentimental fiction genre to the late 19th century sensation novel, I've began to notice how certain words and phrases subtly changed meaning. The changes in meaning reflected the way Victorians viewed certain perspectives, or in other words, the dominant discourses that changed over time also changed the meaning of certain words in literature. After reading four books from two specific genres of Victorian fiction (sentimental fiction and sensational fiction), I've concluded that my ideas of phrases reflecting dominant discourses does ring true. On this website, I will visually and texutally lay out the synopsis of each story I read, information about each author, and the methodology I used to research certain terms that contextually changed meanings. My hope is that this will provide an interactive way to develop my capstone and display the complexities of this subjective, primary and secondary research.

Click on the pictures below to read more about each text used, my thesis statement, and the data collected:

About Me

My name is Noelle Roth and I am a senior at Lourdes University. I'm double-majoring in English and Digital and Media Studies with a minor in Media and Communications. I hope to use my majors to find a career in a library system and/or as an editor for a publishing company. When I'm not working academically, I enjoy reading, writing creative fiction, making arts and crafts, and playing video games. My favorite genres of fiction are Victorian, horror, science fiction, and thriller/mystery. I'm very excited to present my English capstone and later DMS capstone on complexion changes in Victorian literature and I hope that I may teach my audience something new or give them ideas to ponder.