The grievability of the child soldier in the battle paintings of Elizabeth Thompson Butler (1846-1933)Show full item record
Title | The grievability of the child soldier in the battle paintings of Elizabeth Thompson Butler (1846-1933) |
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Author | Thompson, Emma |
Date | 2022-05-02 |
Genre | Thesis |
Degree | Master of Arts |
Abstract | Lady Elizabeth Thompson Butler (1846-1933) eschewed subject matter typical of British battle painting before the 1870s to portray the heroism and sacrifice of the common foot-soldier. She highlighted the dire cost of war not only for the older and battle-weary soldier but also for the youthful combatants and boys in the military band. In this thesis, I argue that Butler utilized the vulnerable child soldier figure in her paintings as a vehicle of emotive force and narrative drama. I analyze Balaclava (1876) and Steady the Drums and Fifes! (1897) to demonstrate how Butler employed injured or deceased youths to heighten the tragedy of her battle paintings. I also explore how Butler navigated a public that was becoming increasingly jingoistic to execute her painting Defence of Rorke’s Drift (1880), which drew on racial anxieties produced by the Anglo-Zulu War (1879) to promote an emotional response to a deceased white youth. Philosopher Judith Butler’s differentiation between grievable and ungrievable lives helps us better understand how grief and the mourning of young lives manifested in Butler’s battle paintings. She tapped into the contemporary consciousness that was increasingly distinguishing childhood as distinct from adulthood, utilizing the adolescent as a charged symbolic figure that allowed her to explore and critique the systems of war by influencing her audience’s emotions. |
Link | https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/52834 |
Department | Art |
Advisor | Fripp, Jessica L. |
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- Masters Theses [4145]
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