Shaping truth: narratorial control in mother-daughter memoirs

Conour, Elise (2026) Shaping truth: narratorial control in mother-daughter memoirs. MLitt(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis explores narratorial control in three mother-daughter memoirs: Mommie Dearest (1978) by Christina Crawford, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011) by Amy Chua, and I’m Glad My Mom Died (2022) by Jennette McCurdy. The focus rests primarily on the relationship between the mother and daughter in each memoir, with two of the memoirs (Crawford’s and McCurdy’s) being narrated by daughters and one (Chua’s) by the mother. In this, I assess how the authors use standard literary techniques (narrative voice, tone, language, titles) to control the perception of the people, places, and events about which they write. I achieve this by extended close reading of each of the texts, while also contextualising these personal narratives with relevant cultural and social contexts and histories. More broadly, I deploy G. Thomas Couser’s definitions of the subgenres of testimony, conversion narrative, bildungsroman, and apology to identify the persuasive strategies involved in the narratives and to consider the potential significance of narrative gaps and omissions.

• Item Type: Thesis (MLitt(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PR English literature
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies
• Supervisor's Name: Stoddart, Professor Helen and Miller, Dr. Gavin
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-86044
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 22 Jun 2026 14:07
• Last Modified: 22 Jun 2026 14:10
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.86044
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/86044