Amy Cardoso
Prof. Nixon---ENGL 602
Notes and Quotes
Kate Ferguson Ellis, “Introduction,” The Contested Castle: Gothic Novels and the
Subversion of Domestic Ideology (Urbana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1989)
Paired Strands of Literary Gothicism
---Radcliffian and Lewisite
---feminine and masculine (more about this later)
---terror Gothic and horror Gothic
The woman novel reader MADE the Gothic!
Essential Questions the Book Tries to Answer (page x)
1. Why did these books become so popular just at the time when women were becoming
a significant part of the reading public?
2. What in the culture created a demand for such fare, and what were its messages to the
readers?
3. Did these messages offer to their readers possibilities subversive of those available
elsewhere in the culture?
The “home”---a safe place for women or a man’s castle?
“The Gothic novel of the eighteenth century foregrounded the home as fortress, while at the
same time exposing its contradictions” (page xi)
Key Differences (page xiii)
Feminine Gothic= the woman usurps the villain and reclaims the home (prison to refuge)
Masculine Gothic= an exile from the refuge of home (now for women)
“This book…treats the masculine Gothic as a reaction to the feminine.” (page xvi)
Quote to Ponder:
“The safety of the home is not a given, nor can it ever be permanently achieved. At best it must
be restored by women’s activity, not only within its walls but outside in the world as well.” (xvi)
---whose “safety” and whose version of “home” (male vs. female)?
---take care of business at home, but do more than read---go experience life!
Kate Ferguson Ellis, “Chapter 1: The Language of Domestic Violence,” The Contested
Castle: Gothic Novels and the Subversion of Domestic Ideology (Urbana & Chicago:
University of Illinois Press, 1989)
Domestic Violence
---Not a literary theme in mid-18th century
---“Normal” family life…or not?
---Occurred due to the belief that “the power of masculine reason” should “correct and
check social abuses” (page 3)
---“As long as their (women’s) power is unequal to that of men, their behavior can be
controlled by the threat of violence even when it is not carried out.” (page 5)
Preserving “Innocence”---premise of the Gothic novel
Danger and violence is looked at in a new way: the world is the dangerous place (not the womanbeating husband at home) so women should stay shut up indoors away from it. They should then
“purify the castle” and make it a respectable home (pages 7-8)
The Problem with Staying at Home Too Much…
---Women became the primary audience for the novel (educated with tons of free time)
---Exposed to the way of the world through literature, but had little to no problem solving
knowledge or coping skills to deal with any of it should it arise in real life
---Have unrealistic views of love due to romance stories
Let’s Talk about SEX, Baby!
“A traditionally dominant Anglo-American definition of women as especially sexual” changed to
“passionlessness” between the 17th and 19th centuries where women were realized to be less
carnal and lustful than men (Nancy Cott, page 11). Sadly, due to the rate of sex crimes and
domestic abuse, to some, “this ideology of passionlessness gave women greater control over
their bodies and their lives (page 11)
A Vicious Circle (pages 15-16)
1. Women are enthralled by what they read because they DON’T get any experiences
like that in real life
2. Woman seeks man similar to who she has been reading about in romance novels
3. Woman finds man and is utterly disappointed that he is not Prince Charming and has
other “passions” besides her (ambition, avarice, vanity- to name a few)
4. Woman can’t effectively handle any of man’s other passions because she has no real
life experience
5. Woman appears weak due to lack of experience so shielding her away from the world
is justified (fear of woman’s imagination)
Thought to Ponder:
Popular standard of femininity got much stricter during the 18th century, so novelists had to
parallel that and tighten the reigns on female character behavior. However, by setting the novel
in the past, authors of the Gothic were able to construct a stronger heroine (page 17)