Female Desire in the Gothic Novel

The development of female desire in the Gothic novel takes place in a way that makes that desire itself a part of the threat to the heroine. This can be effected by developing desire in terms of the fear of rape or of being blamed for sexual misconduct. Sex is evoked in subtle ways, but it is a key element in the fears of the heroines in works such as Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and The Italian by Ann Radcliffe.

In The Italian, Ellena is introduced through the eyes of the man who will love her, Vivaldi, and he sees her as a beatific figure, suggesting the ideal to which the woman is expected to aspire and uphold:

The sweetness and fine expression of her voice attracted his attention to her figure, which had a distinguished air of delicacy and grace. . . (Radcliffe 5).

For Vivaldi, it becomes essential to see her face, and so from the first the woman is presented as the lure, for good or ill, to men. Vivaldi may be benign in his affections, while other men may not. Her awareness that she is being observed causes ellena to withdraw behind her veil, a protection from the outside world, and so a means of protecting her virtue--"the moment her eyes met those of Vivaldi, she became conscious of their effect, and she hastily drew her veil" (Radcliffe 6). In the structure of the book, Ellena is the central figure to which the various males ar drawn. She may choose Vivaldi as her potential sexual partner, but circumstances force her to preserve her virtue in the face

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and finds herself in a house with no other women, she is certain she is to be murdered. There is even a hint that this is the right outcome, for otherwise she would be tainted by the experience so that death would be preferred to dishonor. Vivaldi is drawn to Ellena because he sees only the good, and she is naturally good. This is also why Schedoni is drawn to her, except that he hates the good he sees in her and wants to kill her as a result. Ellena's emerging sexual nature leads her to want to marry Vivaldi, but his parents oppose this union and so force her to suppress this developing aspect of her nature. Her sublimated desire is then threatened by her kidnapping and the constant fear of the males who are holding her against her will. This is a paternalistic society, and this paternalism is supported by religious doctrine and the Church. However, Schedoni perverts the power of both to his own political ends, while the chastity and properly directed desire of Ellena shows the right use of religious belief and societal constraints. In Jane Austen's world, a hint of sexuality is more than society will allow, and sexual desire is sublimated in politeness and the intricacies of etiquette. Northanger Abbey is concerned

Category: Literature - F