Abstract
Joyce's works are authored, in part, by the discourse on population control that became dominant in the nineteenth century. That discourse became enmeshed with what Foucault calls "the deployment of sexuality," and was given economic overtones by the various editions and interpretations of Malthus's "Essay on Population." The birth control movement of the first three decades of the twentieth century contributed significantly to the debate. In Ireland, discussions of population control are associated with responses to the Great Famine (c.1845-51), an event that has influenced patterns of and attitudes toward emigration, marriage, and celibacy ever since. This dissertation exposes the influence of population control--in terms of the Famine, the Malthusian doctrine, and the birth control movement--on the Joyce canon, particularly "The Sisters," "Eveline," Portrait, "Oxen of the Sun," and III.iv (the "Porter chapter") of the Wake.