Citizenship and expatriation in United States women's fiction, 1868--2004

This dissertation examines U.S. women's struggle to achieve full citizenship rights and to resolve expatriation problems, as represented in U.S. women's fiction from 1868 to 2004. This struggle has been shaped by discourses of nationalism, race uplift, and development. The dissertation investigates first, second and third wave U.S. women's rights activism regarding citizenship and expatriation concerns. First, a chapter on cohesive nationalism from 1868 to 1914 considers the argument of U.S. women that their demand for full citizenship rights, including the right to make decisions regarding expatriation, was not anti-national. Fiction by Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett and Edith Wharton claims that an increase in the interactive power of citizens, including women, can build cohesive nationalism. Next, a chapter on race uplift from 1920 to 1930 researches the struggle of U.S. African American women to build self-confidence and respect for the past of African Americans, particularly women. Fiction by Nella Larsen emphasizes the need for U.S. African Americans' access to representation and participation in government and for a state apparatus for interaction with Africans in other countries in order to resolve race uplift problems, including the problem of race-based emigration. Finally, a chapter on development strategies from 1964 to 2004 analyzes the availability of decision-making power for U.S. immigrants from the Third World and for Third World citizens---particularly women---whose lives are shaped by development policies and projects. Fiction by Bharati Mukherjee, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Jhumpa Lahiri, Bharati Kirchner and Samina Ali argues that cooperation among and between feminists and governments in India and the United States regarding access and protection of information is necessary for effective development strategies. The fiction discussed in this dissertation argues forcefully for U.S. women citizens' need for the right to make decisions regarding citizenship and expatriation concerns and their need to ensure ethical benefits, both domestic and foreign, for the U.S. nation-state.