She-Monsters in Nineteenth-Century Novels
Date of Award
2007
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Wallace, Miriam
Keywords
Feminism, Femmes Fatales, Monstrous, Femme, Gothic, Victorian, Sensationalist
Area of Concentration
British and American Literature
Abstract
This thesis examines the ways in which British women writers in the nineteenth century manipulated "monstrous" female characters in their novels to undermine patriarchal paradigms. In the first chapter I look at two Gothic texts, Matthew Gregory Lewis's misogynist The Monk (1796) and Charlotte Dacre's arguably feminist revision of this novel, Zofloya; or, the Moor (1806). These narratives are structurally similar but convey diametrically opposed messages about women; I argue that while Lewis employs the male Gothic, Dacre subverts this discourse, effectively sabotaging contemporary gender ideologies. In the second chapter, I analyze two Victorian novels, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (1847) and Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret (1862). While substantially disparate, both texts center on typical Englishwomen who try to carve a niche for themselves in the world while affronting Victorian society. These women take divergent paths to reach their goals; one succeeds and the other fails. I frame my explanation within the confines of the nascent women's movement and contemporary societal expectations of women and their sexuality. Finally, the conclusion to my thesis points to how Gothic and Victorian literature paved the way for the subsequent literary tradition, fin de siecle literature on the starkly feminist and incendiary New Woman, as crafted by both female and male authors.
Recommended Citation
Real, Natalia, "She-Monsters in Nineteenth-Century Novels" (2007). Theses & ETDs. 3842.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3842
Rights
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