Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Clark, Maribeth

Area of Concentration

Liberal Arts, Music

Abstract

The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis is both a novel and a Netflix mini series about a female chess prodigy, Beth Harmon, navigating the world of chess in the mid-twentieth century. The adaptation to screen in 2020 sparked a global interest in chess, especially among women. My thesis analyzes the adaptation from novel to series, the use of music as a narrative tool, the historical context, the chess games themselves, and the character development. I will be integrating my personal experience as a female chess player, and focusing on how my evolution and experience as a player mirrors Beth’s. I will be exploring themes of identity, transformation, and addiction. My thesis will illustrate the power of The Queen’s Gambit, and how it reshaped cultural perceptions of chess and women within its community.

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