A study of voice in the writings of Dora Russell

Harris, Tara Gwen (1995) A study of voice in the writings of Dora Russell. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

In 1945 Dora (Oake) Russell became the first Woman's Editor of the Evening Telegram. This thesis focuses on four of the columns she wrote during her four years with the Telegram: a daily Editorial, "The Woman's Angle"; a daily fictional diary column, "Day By Day"; a profile column, "Woman of the Week"; and a fictional column called "Spectatler." Russell's writing voice is examined within the framework of "feminist poststructuralist theory." Such an examination includes discussion of the social and cultural forces which shaped Russell's voice. -- An analysis of Russell's writing voice reveals the duality inherent in the voice of a woman writing within patriarchal society and language. An examination of Russell's use of language and rhetorical techniques reveals the "double-voiced discourse" of the woman writer. The impact of genre and audience on Russell's writing voice is also a focus of this thesis. Because Russell wrote in a wide spectrum of genres including editorial, profile, fictional diary, short fiction, drama, and straight political reporting, her work provides great opportunity to explore not only what each genre offers the woman writer, but how the writer uses each genre. Audience, of course, is an important factor as well. There is much evidence to suggest that Russell's voice changes according to both genre and audience.

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