Semester of Graduation
Spring 2020
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This thesis examines the life and career of stage, film, and television personality Arlene Francis, in order to add nuance to the understanding of how women broke into the entertainment industry. Francis, rather than brazenly flouting norms, wooed her employers and audience into acceptance by combining her prominent new “power” with comforting old-fashioned norms. The result was a woman doing something patently new while speaking in a way disarmingly familiar. In this way, Francis is reminiscent of other female pioneers, who used a traditionally feminine persona to charm their male colleagues into supporting their leadership, and as a result has been underappreciated by the latter-day champions of women’s advancement.
Recommended Citation
Argrave, Caroline, "There's No Place Like Home: Arlene Francis and Domesticity in Doubt" (2020). LSU Master's Theses. 5114.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/5114
Committee Chair
Shindo, Charles
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_theses.5114