Britomart Quest Anew, Victorians Revive the Elizabethan Faerie Queene as Campaigns for Women’s Suffrage Intensify

Nineteenth century reeditions and reworkings of the Renaissance The Faerie Queene, can be equated with renewed interest in one of Spenser’s leading protagonists, Britomart, daughter of a knight, who herself passed as one. This Victorian interest in an example of transgenderism coincided with women’s...

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Main Author: Susan Clayton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée 2010-06-01
Series:Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/cve/3080
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author Susan Clayton
author_facet Susan Clayton
author_sort Susan Clayton
collection DOAJ
description Nineteenth century reeditions and reworkings of the Renaissance The Faerie Queene, can be equated with renewed interest in one of Spenser’s leading protagonists, Britomart, daughter of a knight, who herself passed as one. This Victorian interest in an example of transgenderism coincided with women’s demands for socio-cultural changes. We shall address the questions of links between gender and power, and consider how the past is used to consolidate the present.Our analysis starts by contextualising Victorian revivals of Britomart’ story, paying special attention to a prose adaptation by Mary MacLeod, then assessing these revivals in relation to women’s demands for change, bearing in mind that British suffragettes also looked across the Channel to another female knight-at-arms, Joan of Arc, for a model for their campaigns. Finally we will consider certain cultural implications when such a resurgence interacts with challenges to gender.
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spelling doaj-art-2190187e41f5425da3a9b33755425d882025-01-30T10:20:41ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492010-06-017132333810.4000/cve.3080Britomart Quest Anew, Victorians Revive the Elizabethan Faerie Queene as Campaigns for Women’s Suffrage IntensifySusan ClaytonNineteenth century reeditions and reworkings of the Renaissance The Faerie Queene, can be equated with renewed interest in one of Spenser’s leading protagonists, Britomart, daughter of a knight, who herself passed as one. This Victorian interest in an example of transgenderism coincided with women’s demands for socio-cultural changes. We shall address the questions of links between gender and power, and consider how the past is used to consolidate the present.Our analysis starts by contextualising Victorian revivals of Britomart’ story, paying special attention to a prose adaptation by Mary MacLeod, then assessing these revivals in relation to women’s demands for change, bearing in mind that British suffragettes also looked across the Channel to another female knight-at-arms, Joan of Arc, for a model for their campaigns. Finally we will consider certain cultural implications when such a resurgence interacts with challenges to gender.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/3080
spellingShingle Susan Clayton
Britomart Quest Anew, Victorians Revive the Elizabethan Faerie Queene as Campaigns for Women’s Suffrage Intensify
Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
title Britomart Quest Anew, Victorians Revive the Elizabethan Faerie Queene as Campaigns for Women’s Suffrage Intensify
title_full Britomart Quest Anew, Victorians Revive the Elizabethan Faerie Queene as Campaigns for Women’s Suffrage Intensify
title_fullStr Britomart Quest Anew, Victorians Revive the Elizabethan Faerie Queene as Campaigns for Women’s Suffrage Intensify
title_full_unstemmed Britomart Quest Anew, Victorians Revive the Elizabethan Faerie Queene as Campaigns for Women’s Suffrage Intensify
title_short Britomart Quest Anew, Victorians Revive the Elizabethan Faerie Queene as Campaigns for Women’s Suffrage Intensify
title_sort britomart quest anew victorians revive the elizabethan faerie queene as campaigns for women s suffrage intensify
url https://journals.openedition.org/cve/3080
work_keys_str_mv AT susanclayton britomartquestanewvictoriansrevivetheelizabethanfaeriequeeneascampaignsforwomenssuffrageintensify