Taniya Modelski The Female Uncanny Analysis

The Gothic heroine and the young heroine’s identity changes once the moment of refusal is brought upon them and the powers of villain no longer make them feel fear. Their refusal gives them strength and female empowerment that allows them to face the villain and his oppression. This identity of the young heroine embodies who they are as characters, resulting them in becoming stronger, more matured women. Their lessons, their knowledge and will power allow the heroine to thrive in a world of power and control over the choices the women made. The young heroines are no longer girls. They transformed and become women as they stand against the political-societal views that held them back for so

Of the genres being explored, gothic fiction in particular has often emphasized the stereotypical damsel in distress. This image of women has generally been depicted by describing them as superficially beautiful, but incompetent in all matters of the mind. In Beautiful and Damned: The Sexual Women in Gothic Fiction, it is stated that fiction often mirrors conservative values (Mussell). At its pique popularity, the gothic genre has been used to escape or deter an increasingly promiscuous world. In gothic works, conservative values have been presented by portrayals of women being unable to sustain from acting on their feelings of lust, and consequently, being punished or defeated. This opposes the heroine archetype of the gothic, whom is generally a more conservative and

This dissertation will examine and analyse two of the macabre and gothic tales from the English author Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865); The Old Nurses Story (1852) and The Poor Clare (1857). Indicating and demonstrating how representations of mystery and the supernatural are used as vehicles of imagination, expression and exploration into the hidden depths of the female psyche through the use of Gothic fiction within the Victorian era (1837-1901). I intend to delve and explore into the identity of the feminine-self exposing the darker and intimate issues of the female Gothic, otherwise hidden within the oppressive constraints of the female role residing in Victorian society. Applying psychoanalytical examples, I shall discuss themes of the

As a result of the abuse female characters have faced, it has become an objective for authors to prevent this. There have been clear strides recently, putting women as the protagonists, and not in a manner that has them dealing with persecution. The amount of strong, female characters is a large stride in the right direction to end the conflict regarding women’s roles in literature. However, this sudden influx of women in literature may lead to the reversal of the issue; the absence or abuse of men. While certainly literary equality is the end goal, to flip the issue would be just as bad and lead to sexism on the opposite spectrum. To truly mend the rift between genders, there must be no discrimination, the idea that an author is trying to use sexist undertones by not writing the lead as a female should not have to be an idea that readers think about when analyzing modern books. While even still there are issues of gender inequality in literature, there must be moderation from both ends for a resolution to be possible. The only way for equality to be achieved is with the absence of sexist ideals from all

Isolation, betrayal, and admiration are all responses to an external or internal conflict one may be experiencing. The gothic elements above are woven throughout the novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, as well as the other gothic literature. The characters in the following works of gothic literature all try to resolve problems in their society, personal relationships with others, and what is true versus what isn't. As one reads these stories of gothic literature it becomes evident that isolation, betrayal, and admiration are only a temporary resolvement to the characters conflicts or predicaments.

However, the roles for women have changed in both America and England. As time progresses, women have gain control of their rights and attained some gender equality in society such as working outside their homes and having an education. One way of examining this change is in Gothic fiction by looking at how women have evolved themselves from the patriarchal culture. Women were able to live their own lives and not in a men’s world.

Women have a profound role in not only the society, but in all facets of culture. Their impact can be seen/felt in music, fashion, and even literature. After reading the short stories from the last few weeks, it has become more apparent that women truly encompass a definite role as well in gothic fiction. As a result, this paper will seek to analyze and define the roles of women in two (2) prominent gothic fiction pieces: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

Women in the 18th and 19th century were expected to follow the orders of the males in their lives. They were forced into arranged marriages to connect families in a pursuit for social power and they were expected to abide by anything the males in their lives asked of them. Free will was nonexistent. Much gothic literature effectively highlights the women’s expected role of the time. However, another aspect that seems to surface in gothic literature is whenever there is a woman who is not following the social norms, they seem to be the driving conflict behind the plotline and ultimately lead to any present happy ending.

A querying of normative gender behaviour and sexuality pervades the 19th century gothic fiction text. What does this reveal about the cultural context within the tale exists?

Having discussed Victorian ideas of sex and gender, this paper will now focus on the monstrous feminine in Dracula. The term monstrous-feminine itself derives from Barbara Creed's "Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection." In her text, Creed claims that every human culture has its version of the monstrous-feminine, "of what it is about woman that is shocking, terrifying, horrific, abject" ("Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine" 44). Creed applies this concept onto horror movies such as Psycho ("Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine" 70) or Alien ("Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine" 68). She also links this concept to Medusa in Geek mythology who turns men into stone by simply looking at them (Creed, "Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine" 44). Creed proposes that the monstrous-feminine is a man-made villain representing a male fear of female domination in a society when that was unthinkable and

‘The role of women in the gothic genre is as victims always subjected to male authority’, compare and contrast to which this interpretation is relevant to your three chosen texts.

Since negative effects of movement are apparent even with a prosthetic hand, a whole robot would magnify the creepiness. And that is just one robot. Imagine a craftsman being awakened suddenly in the dead of night. He searches downstairs for something among a crowd of mannequins in his workshop. If the mannequins started to move, it would be like a horror story.

Gothic Literature is a style of literature popularized during the late 18th century and the early 19th century with the publication of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This style usually portrays fantastic tales dealing with the horror, despair, the grotesque and other “dark” subjects. Characteristics of gothic literature includes the presence of victims and their victimizers who usually hold immense powers along with their evil purpose. The setting of this kind of literature generally takes place within impenetrable walls, whether physical or mental. This setting creates a sense of hopeless isolation within the victim. The summarization of the characters and situation creates an atmosphere pervaded by a sense of mystery, darkness, oppressiveness, fear, and doom.

Gothics didn’t just settle their depictions of women on the presence of power, but, they also described the roles that they should play, and how the had to play them. In early gothics, and some new versions of the form, the role that women take is that of the “other”, or in essence the marginalized.This common gothic trope of women being othered, leads to them taking on the role of the victims. This is no different in A Sicilian Romance, as most of the women, barring one character, have been victimized by male circumstance, in some way. While Julia was the main victim, being chased down by her father, and the duke, to whom she was to be married, her sister was also a victim, as she was imprisoned by their father, because she was accused of aiding in Julia’s escape. Even their mentor was a victim in many ways, not only having her brother killed by her husband, then losing him, and having his brother contest her right to the estate, but she was also othered by the marquis new wife, maria, after seeing maria cheat on the marquis, and forced out of her new home as well. But being a victim isn’t the only way gender roles come into play in gothics. Gender norms are also a big part of the story structure of gothics, and so is subverting them. The standard for how women behave, look, and carry themselves is a major part of their depiction. In A Sicilian Romance, women are shown as needing to be proper, pure, and kind. The only one that subvert this, is maria, who is one of the

In the story of The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter attacks the conventional gender roles of women. The conventional Gothic plot revolves around pursuit. A young heroine’s virtuous virginity, purity and innocence is sexually threatened. Thus, what Carter does in “The Bloody Chamber” is redefine female desire and sexuality which are rendered passive and repressed through traditional Gothic texts. Where the mother exemplifies the heroic woman, the “girl” is the traditional damsel in distress. Maria Makinen’s assessment of Carters feminine characters is both truthful and incorrect. Carter uses traditional female stereotypes as well as her unique women to make a contrast between these perceptions of women.