« Knocking on Mrs Grundy’s door with a bomb of dynamite » : peur(s) des femmes dans quelques New Woman novels des années 1893-1895
Late nineteenth century New Woman novels frightened their readers. Their daring authors and courageous heroines engaged with fears of racial degeneration, male pollution and sexual freedom. Yet, while they celebrate female bravery in accordance with their feminist purpose, they also examine the biol...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2008-12-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/8499 |
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| Summary: | Late nineteenth century New Woman novels frightened their readers. Their daring authors and courageous heroines engaged with fears of racial degeneration, male pollution and sexual freedom. Yet, while they celebrate female bravery in accordance with their feminist purpose, they also examine the biological and moral value of fear, as a form of self-protection against the dangers of married life. In The Heavenly Twins by Sarah Grand, Dr Janet of Harley Street by Arabella Kenealy, the anonymous novel A Superfluous Woman and The Woman Who Did by Grant Allen, fear appears as a wholesome emotion which teaches « the art of self-defence ». Such a reading of these novels with a purpose throws a new light on Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure, in which fear is pervasive and ambivalent. |
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| ISSN: | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |