Robbins, Sarah R.Leverenz, Molly Knox2014-07-222014-07-2220112011https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/4330In this thesis, I explore Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy series as a sub-genre of the Bildungsroman in which Lovelace asserts how authorship helps cultivate the agency of a young girl. I argue that authorship allows Betsy to establish her voice and gives her a means of asserting her own desires and plans, even granting her the ability to defy some aspects of normative femininity, such as the development of domestic skills or the assumption that she must marry and not pursue a career. Additionally, Lovelace shows that Betsy must learn how to navigate between the supposed separate spheres, as her authorship puts her before the public while also requiring private study and labor. This thesis determines that Lovelace ultimately creates a middle path for Betsy and her authorship, one in which she embraces both her agency and her femininity, her public authorship and her private domestic fulfillmentFormat: OnlineEmbargoed until May 3, 2015; Texas Christian University.No search engine accessText