Domesticating Women Passionate Heroines and the Men Who Punish Them in Zofloya, Lady Audley's Secret and East Lynne

Date of Award

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Wallace, Miriam

Keywords

Femme Fatales, Sensationalist Fiction, Misogyny

Area of Concentration

British and American Literature

Abstract

The femme fatale, often synonymous with the fallen women, is found throughout literature. Although she is usually utilized only in terms of her seductive powers, British women writers Charlotte Dacre, Mary Braddon, and Ellen Wood developed the femme fatale into something more in Zofloya, Lady Audley's Secret and East Lynne. Each of these novels is especially effective at challenging traditional social concepts of femininity, marriage and gender roles because each features a compelling, rebellious woman who seeks power and control through violence, sexual pleasure, or social and financial advance. Yet these writers also counter their heroines' willfulness through a dominant male figure whose misogynistic tendencies subtly undermine these novels' emancipated tone. At first, their presence seems to suggest mere didacticism and social propriety, but these male characters are themselves open to criticism, ultimately solidifying the imbedded message of social upheaval in these works.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS