This thesis examines three twentieth-century coming-of-age novels—John Knowles's A Separate Peace, William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!, and E. M. Forster's Maurice—and the search for an alternative queer temporality that emerges in each of these texts. The queerness of the three young protagonists in these novels prevents them from falling in line with the inherently heteronormative narrative structure of the Bildungsroman, leading them to resist their impending adulthood. Each of these boys refuses to abide by the pace of linear, normative development and seeks out a queer time to explore their desires. Chapter One focuses on A Separate Peace, where Gene and Phineas construct a utopian, alternative present to the surrounding, historical time of the war and the Devon School; Chapter Two centers on Absalom, Absalom! and the novel's depiction of Quentin and Shreve's historiographical turn to the past, which provides them access to a queered history that they narrate and re-enact in the present; and Chapter Three examines Maurice, which sees Maurice choose to escape the heteronormative bounds of English society by embarking on the creation of a new, queer time with Alec. By exploring these three novels and the ways their coming-of-age narratives are diverted, this thesis uncovers how queer figures react to, live within, and survive the expectations of straight time.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Queer","Literature","Time"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 33908