Ideas to consider: Female Gothic

1. Ideas to consider:Female Gothic Wednesday, 18 April 2012 Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

2. Two strands The nature of the female characters The effect of the female writer. Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

3. CHARACTER Women as victim – passive Women as active in developing their future/character Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

4. Passive Before the birth of Gothic, women generally seen in society as: less rational and self-disciplined and more liable to fantasy and desire than men, particularly susceptible to the seductions of novel-reading (!) and particularly impaired by its evils for their destined and „proper‟ roles as wives, mothers and professionalised domestic managers. … Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

5. … In a male dominated society, women in literature tend to reflect these views. Which of your Gothic women can you put into this framework? Think of the victims of male oppression… Does the passive woman of literature serve to undermine any claim women might have for equality? Which of the heroines fall into this innocent/male-dominated picture? Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

6. Puppets Recent criticism suggests the title “puppet-woman” for such women and applies this thoroughly to characters throughout the genre, even into post-modern Gothic such as The Bloody Chamber. What is implied by the puppet metaphor? Consider how physical description might be tied in to this idea. Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

7. Active women The more active “new women” of the genre offer an alternative perspective: “a strong degree of agency and self-determination” A shift towards independence of mind and action possibly replicating the changes in society. Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

8. Tiger’s Bride Interesting example of both in this story from The Bloody Chamber. At first, a puppet – owned and sold by men with little consideration. By the end, revealed as confident of her sexuality and revelling in her new found inner persona. Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

9. “Can a bird only sing the song it knows or can it learn a new song?” (BC 108.2) The change is fun –usually from passive to active in modern literature to reflect the emergence of the feminist critique. Can be worked the other way – Lady Macbeth seems to become increasingly passive as Shakespeare is trying to develop a response to a patriarchal society. Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

10. Authors Male Writer: Male protagonist/female victim Male perspective Violence, often sexual evident towards women “Virgins in distress or demons in disguise” Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

11. Female writer 1 reinforces ideas, particularly with regards to sexuality – “madwoman in the attic”. A voracious and animalistic sexual being. 2 A woman who acknowledges her sexuality and uses it positively for her own ends. Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

12. Type 1 Consider your female heroines/key figures. Lucy Westenra Bertha Mason (Jane Eyre) Matilda (the Monk) How is the sexuality of the character used? Is there any way of categorising these women? Is there a difference between the female and male writers here? Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

13. Type 2 Look at The Bloody Chamber and consider the emergence of a new, sexually charged type of character. In Company of Wolves, the girl refuses to be a victim and ends up sleeping with the wolf- the wolf itself seems to represent not just a masculine threat, but the hidden sexuality of the heroine which is tamed by being revealed. The feminine triumphant! Jonathan Peel SGS 2012

14. Lady Macbeth Certainly Active > passive Does not use sexuality at all – “unsex me here”. Is she a victim of male dominance? Is she a puppet? Are there any aspects of the character that you feel point towards the development of the Feminine Gothic? Jonathan Peel SGS 2012