Re-Imagining the Victorian Woman: Female Representations in Four Neo-Victorian Novels from 1990 to 2010
(2015) LIVR43 20131English Studies
Master's Programme: Literature - Culture - Media
- Abstract
- Neo-Victorian literature is a subgenre of historical fiction that is set during the reign of Queen Victoria, from 1837 until 1901. There are divergent opinions on the emergence of the genre; however, the time frame established in this dissertation spans from 1990 until the present moment. One of the principal characteristic of neo-Victorian novels is that through their Victorian setting they display their involvement with contemporary issues. Such an engagement can be expressed in a variety of ways, yet a common approach involves a reimagining
of marginalized voices. This paper will focus on representations of real and
fictitious Victorian women in four neo-Victorian novels: Sarah Waters' Tipping the Velvet(1998); Belinda Starling's The... (More) - Neo-Victorian literature is a subgenre of historical fiction that is set during the reign of Queen Victoria, from 1837 until 1901. There are divergent opinions on the emergence of the genre; however, the time frame established in this dissertation spans from 1990 until the present moment. One of the principal characteristic of neo-Victorian novels is that through their Victorian setting they display their involvement with contemporary issues. Such an engagement can be expressed in a variety of ways, yet a common approach involves a reimagining
of marginalized voices. This paper will focus on representations of real and
fictitious Victorian women in four neo-Victorian novels: Sarah Waters' Tipping the Velvet(1998); Belinda Starling's The Journal of Dora Damage (2006); Jude Morgan's Charlotte and Emily: A novel of the Brontës (2010); and A.S. Byatt's Possession: A Romance (1990). The analysis of each novel is divided into three parts, which focus on authorship/autobiography, sexuality, as well as independence and occupation. This division seems to both highlight similarities between the novels, as well as draw attention to their differences. Through an emphasis on issues regarding a large group, that was generally repressed during
the Victorian era, it is revealed that contrary to the statements of certain critics, neo-Victorian texts are more critical than nostalgic towards their historical setting. (Less)
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http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4917977
- author
- Valdimarsdóttir, Guðrún LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LIVR43 20131
- year
- 2015
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- optimism., nostalgia, authorship, fictional autobiography, Women's writing, Sexuality, Morgan, Starling, Byatt, Waters, Women in fiction, Historical fiction, Fiction, Neo-Victorianism, Neo-Victorian
- language
- English
- id
- 4917977
- date added to LUP
- 2015-06-18 09:06:23
- date last changed
- 2015-06-18 09:06:23
@misc{4917977, abstract = {{Neo-Victorian literature is a subgenre of historical fiction that is set during the reign of Queen Victoria, from 1837 until 1901. There are divergent opinions on the emergence of the genre; however, the time frame established in this dissertation spans from 1990 until the present moment. One of the principal characteristic of neo-Victorian novels is that through their Victorian setting they display their involvement with contemporary issues. Such an engagement can be expressed in a variety of ways, yet a common approach involves a reimagining of marginalized voices. This paper will focus on representations of real and fictitious Victorian women in four neo-Victorian novels: Sarah Waters' Tipping the Velvet(1998); Belinda Starling's The Journal of Dora Damage (2006); Jude Morgan's Charlotte and Emily: A novel of the Brontës (2010); and A.S. Byatt's Possession: A Romance (1990). The analysis of each novel is divided into three parts, which focus on authorship/autobiography, sexuality, as well as independence and occupation. This division seems to both highlight similarities between the novels, as well as draw attention to their differences. Through an emphasis on issues regarding a large group, that was generally repressed during the Victorian era, it is revealed that contrary to the statements of certain critics, neo-Victorian texts are more critical than nostalgic towards their historical setting.}}, author = {{Valdimarsdóttir, Guðrún}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Re-Imagining the Victorian Woman: Female Representations in Four Neo-Victorian Novels from 1990 to 2010}}, year = {{2015}}, }