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Adaptation, re-imaginings, appropriation, prequels and sequels are powerful and popular tools for storytelling in our modern society. As Linda Hutcheon says, 'there are precious few stories around that have not been 'lovingly ripped off' from others. In the workings of the human imagination, adaptation is the norm, not the exception' (177). In this dissertation, I wish to discuss Neil Gaiman's extensive use of intertextual relationships. I will use Coraline as a case study because it is very much inspired by a single literary work, Alice in Wonderland unlike many of Gaiman's novels for adults, which borrow extensively from mythologies from around the globe and literature alike. I will start by taking a closer look at intertextuality as a field of literary theory and criticism, using Linda Hutcheon's A Theory of Adaptation as a theoretical basis. I will also discuss Neil Gaiman's own concept of 'myths' and the way they figure in his works. Then, I will discuss the literary movement of neo-Victorianism, of which Coraline clearly is an exponent. In the second part of this work, I will compare both novels from a feminist perspective. I will explore the position of girls in children's literature and the use of fantasy elements and of the Gothic and the uncanny in both Alice and Coraline. I will then turn to both texts from a psychoanalytical point of view, comparing the effects of certain characteristics, events, characters, or themes on the empowerment or disempowerment of the heroine. In my discussion of the intertextual relationship Gaiman establishes between the two texts, I will show that these similarities are not as straightforward as they may seem. Gaiman subtly subverts the undercurrents of Victorian morality and values that can be found in Carroll's Alice stories to create a story that will speak to modern children by showing an empowered, independent heroine.

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It is necessary to notice that the collection of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth was critically structured and reorganized around the poem 'Lines Written in Early Spring' ['LWES'] 'LWES' regarding different editions. Despite the importance of the arrangement of LB and the notable place of 'LWES', however, the given research did not represent any discussion of the position, the function and importance of this poem based on its connection with other poems. This thesis will particularly analyse the central position of 'LWES' in the collection based on the memory and contemporary situation of British nation. By focusing on the symbolic meaning of 'a thousand blended notes' in the first line and the landscape illustrated, we can see 'LWES' reveals Wordsworth's argument that 'serve[s] as a commentary unostentatiously directing his [the reader's] attention to my [his] purposes, both particular and general' (Preface), and his efforts to marry up sounds with images, pleasure with pathos, disconnection with connection, the inside with the outside, change with permanence and an individual with the community. In China, current analysis of 'LWES' still follows the mode of antagonism between nature and society, the subject and the object, joy and grief. No attention has yet been paid to the important role played by 'LWES' in the entire collection. However, this binary opposition differs drastically from the ancient Chinese philosophy, as well as poorly similar in the cultural context. The feasibility of such contrasts, therefore, is put in question. Such discussions will be reviewed in this thesis as well.

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Stoornissen in het autismespectrum zijn een aandoening waar vandaag de dag enorm veel onderzoek naar wordt verricht. De brede waaier aan uiteenlopende kenmerken maakt een definitie haast onmogelijk, maar door verfijning van de onderzoekscriteria en nieuwe kennis over de aard van de stoornis is het aantal vaststellingen van spectrumstoornis de afgelopen decennia wel exponentieel gestegen. Dat laat zich merken aan de toenemende aandacht in de populaire cultuur door middel van autistische personages in film en literatuur. Monumentale films als Rain Man en boeken als The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time van Mark Haddon hebben geleid tot een explosie aan werken die spectrumstoornis op een of andere manier integreren. Het gevaar daarin is echter dat die weergaves niet altijd overeenstemmen met de werkelijkheid en zo nefaste gevolgen creëren voor mensen met autisme aan de hand van foutieve vooroordelen. Dit artikel overloopt een aantal theorieën over het gebruik van spectrumstoornis in literatuur. Zo wordt er verwezen naar de Theory of Mind, een vaste waarde in de studie van autisme, die stelt dat personen met autisme een gebrek hebben aan inzicht in het innerlijke denkwerk van anderen. Ook worden de stereotypen in de populaire cultuur aangehaald en worden die toegepast op een bredere, postmoderne visie. Autistische personages worden namelijk vaak gebruikt als middel om bepaalde postmoderne angsten weer te geven. Maar bovenal vertegenwoordigen ze vaak een soort van 'anders zijn', dat het een en ander kan verduidelijken over de mens op zich. Het artikel neemt dan ook een hedendaags werk onder de loep om te achterhalen hoe de spectrumstoornis daarin voorgesteld wordt en welke functie ze heeft in het verhaal zelf. Er zal in dat opzicht gekeken worden naar Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close van Jonathan Safran Foer, een roman uit 2005 die gaat over een ietwat vreemde jongen die zijn vader verliest in de aanslagen op 11 september en moet omgaan met dat trauma. Daarin zal vooral blijken dat de autistische eigenschappen een extra versterking zijn om op een krachtige manier aan te tonen dat het hedendaagse leven verwarrend kan overkomen. Door de mogelijkheid van een universele kennis te weerleggen, toont het boek overigens ook dat de grootste gelijkenis tussen mensen uiteindelijk hun kwetsbaarheid is.

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The main goal of the thesis is to introduce and analyse a work by one of the most important figures in Victorian literature, Anthony Trollope. His extensive work left a significant mark in the literature of the period. The main focus of the thesis lies on a neglected novel - Nina Balatka. The work deals with a number of themes and we explain their importance from different perspectives. The novel was written anonymously and it is set in a foreign country (Bohemia or what is now the Czech Republic). Trollope draws upon his personal experience from a visit to Prague. However, due to his short stay, he could not achieve complete accuracy. The novel itself concentrates on the relationship between two lovers, a Christian woman Nina Balatka and a Jewish man Anton Trendellsohn. Anton is a tragic figure: the novel shows that being a Jew was hard enough in the 19th-century Austrian-Hungarian Empire, and that being a Jew in love with a Christian girl bordered on the unacceptable. We draw attention to the links between the fact that the novel was published anonymously and that it takes place in a different setting than Victorian England. We pay attention to the connection between these facts and the fact that one of the strongest motives of this work is the theme of conversion from one religion to another. The theme of conversion at the time of Trollope was considered to be very controversial. We hope that this analysis sheds some light on the case of Nina Balatka, a novel which critics and readers have by and large neglected, despite the fact that it can provide an interesting reservoir in research on 19th-century literature. Although Nina does not belong among the best-known novels by Trollope, we believe that its style and the themes it touches on are very interesting for the contemporary readers. Nina Balatka is a very important piece of work because of its relevance today. Problems such as hate, intolerance, racism, xenophobia and emigration are actual themes in almost every apart of the world.