Thesis Pitch

• Working Title
• Deconstruction of Hetero-Normative Behaviors in Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway"
• Research Question
• Untangling Mrs. Dalloway through the combined use of a feminist psychoanalysis lens, reader response theory, toxic masculinity, and comparative analyses in response to the suicide of Septimus and its ultimate role in changing literary analysis praxis.  
• 3 Key Papers
• "Railed in by a Maddening Reason: A Reconsideration of Septimus Smith and His Role in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway." - Sabine Sautter-Leger
• "Mrs. Dalloway, the Dictator, and the Relativity Paradox" - Christopher Herbert
• "Chiastic Modernism: Rational Uncanniness and Uncanny Reason" - Daniel Darvay
• Motivation
• The motivation behind this project is to use the skills that I have gained through the process of earning my B.A. In English Studies with concentrations in Literature and Writing to deconstruct a piece of literature that widely interests me. Also, Virginia Woolf is an author that has always intrigued me and I have always found something much larger to every one of her pieces. In addition, no student has really tackled Virginia Woolf with their Senior Thesis and I have always been the person to try doing what other students shy away from - simply because I like the challenge.
• 3 Core Aspects
• Idea: Formulate an analysis around "Mrs. Dalloway," specifically Septimus's suicide and what that means for the novel and for those reading the novel.
• Data: Will be collected through the use of database research across all mediums
• Tools: Feminist psychoanalysis lens, reader response theory, toxic masculinity lens, and comparative analyses 
• 2 Key Questions
• What's New?: This is still a work in progress to hopefully find something that hasn't been said before. Again, I am hoping for something connected to Septimus's suicide, but that is something that will change and flex throughout the research process.
• So What?: I want to connect this with middle or high school curriculum and see if this novel could sufficiently replace another novel being studied (to promote women writers and to break down the normalization of hetero-normative behaviors) while still meeting the outlined curriculum requirements.
• 1 Bottom Line
• Contribution: As stated above, I want to deconstruct the normalization of hetero-normative behaviors and promote women writers while still meeting curriculum requirements
• Other Considerations
• At this point, the project idea sits wide open and I am open to changing topics or ideas. specifically, I am set on studying Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway," but the scope in which the research is done is flexible.