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This anthology illustrates a select helping of the Gothic female as portrayed by women writers in the eighteenth century. We start by looking at Mary Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Woman as this is generally viewed as the cornerstone for modern feminist theory. Following this, the remaining three sources are Ann Radcliffes The Italian, Eliza Fenwicks Secresy and Maria by Mary Wollstonecraft. It is a reasonable comment to say that in Gothic literature by male writers, the heroine tends to be a weak-willed weeping woman. In the eighteenth century writers such as Radcliffe and Wollstonecraft do not outwardly defy this assessment, rather they use the same techniques to subvert the depictions of gender. Tamar Heller contemplates that the Female Gothics intentions are to challenge womens traditional roles stating The subversive nature of the Gothic extends to its exploration of the troubled politics of domestic ideology (Heller, p14). The gothic heroines in this anthology tend to be Orphans separated from domestic structures (Botting p64) that are a simultaneously persecuted victim and courageous heroine (Moers, p91). Being the maltreated victim is in itself a traditional presentation of the gothic narrative, however it is in the heroines actions and language that we find the authors attempting to change the perception of the literary woman. My presentation of the sources examines each authors intentions and attitudes with regards to the gothic female. A Vindication of The Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft could be viewed as an essential start to modern western feminist philosophy. Wollstonecraft argues that women deserve to be educated and most importantly that they should not submit to men unless it is due to reason. Wollstonecraft takes a balanced and logical approach to discussing the reasons behind the degradation of the female sex pointing out that historically the role of women has been similar to that of a slave or a despot. She does not exhibit the illogical and whimsical

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traits that authors such as Matthew Lewis attribute to the fairer sex. Wollstonecraft aims to educate her readers and denunciate patriarchal literature commenting that the grand source of female folly and vice has been the lack of education. She does not argue that women should be treated as men, because each gender has their own qualities that the other does not possess. Women are viewed as the lesser of the genders because they are not given the opportunity to demonstrate their worth. Wollstonecraft blames the constitution of civil governments for the lack of education for women and states this applies to both the rich and the poor. Wollstonecraft contends that if women are placed under a sun of pleasure, that is protected from the harshness of the world then they cannot be expected to learn and grow. Little can be expected from women who merely go about the business of pleasure and so Wollstonecraft calls for women to be educated. If female writers were to create Wollstonecraft-ic heroines, then each would be an educated woman who rather than fainting and weeping like the female characters in The Castle of Wolfenbach , would be strong and principled. Ellen Moers sums up Wollstonecrafts notions on this as a woman writers stated intention to create a heroic structure for the female voice in literature (Moers, p123) My second source is Wollstonecrafts incomplete Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman which takes the philosophies from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and applies them in novelistic form. The author uses the eponymous heroine to criticise patriarchal society and specifically the conventions of eighteenth-century marriage. In this extract Wollstonecraft admits that women can be susceptible to impetuous, varying emotions which she does not view as a foible rather that this is inherently part of the womans psyche. The novel starts with Maria having had her daughter taken from her and also having been incarcerated in an asylum by her husband. Maria is a tool to show

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Wollstonecrafts contemporary audience that the heroine can experience emotions without being having flimsy disposition and the extract serves to set up Maria as an intelligent considerate woman who pays a great deal of attention to detail. Maria, after having two days of upset begins to reflect more calmly and logically on her current state of affairs. Wollstonecraft uses free indirect discourse to amalgamate her and Marias voice which means she can narrate her own sentiments. In the Rights of Woman Wollstonecraft attacks the attitude of sensibility especially in women who overreact to gushes of feelings. In Maria the character spends two days rendered incapable of sober reflections before rationally considering what it is that she must do whilst in her dreary cell. Note how being isolated and imprisoned means that Maria is let to tranquil meditation, which is to dwell on romantic thoughts and prepositions. The impression is that in order to escape she must take self-possession of her wit and emotions and employ them in a lucid and judicious fashion. Maria here displays the nature and behaviour of a gothic heroine that women writers should be imitating if they are to succeed in educating their contemporary audience. My third source is Eliza Fenwicks Secresy. Eliza Fenwick was a friend of Mary Wollstonecrafts and it is not difficult to see how the latter may have influenced that of Fenwicks Secresy. Secresy is a novel of ideals resisting the eighteenth-century patriarchal society and it is clear Fenwick is motivated to unify gender and class differences. Secresy presents a heroine that challenges the traditional ideological heroine by embarking on self-education in order to castoff the social constraints of her contemporaries in much the same way that Mary Wollstonecraft encouraged. It would be foolish to describe Secresy as having feminist undertones because in reality, Fenwicks feminist ideals are explicit. However in the eighteenth century, feminism did not exist in the same way that it does in modern society. Valmont, the villain in the novel,

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represses the female characters by attempting to keep the girls intellectually ignorant. By preventing exterior stimulus from the outside world he hopes that they will remain submissive and obedient. However Caroline exhibits intense desires for her friend in this extract declaring to Sibella You are a glorious girl, Sibella, you elevate, you excite me! Whilst Romantic friendships between women were common in eighteenth century England, Carolines feelings appear to go beyond this. The issue of gender transgression is interesting in gothic fiction as it allows the female writer to challenge female gender identity and Fenwick uses homoerotic tensions to upturn the gender norms. Secresy looks at the social inferences that come from the power of womens friendships and the implications when these friendships are subverted. Fenwick focuses on the feminine body as a political tool as for a women to desire something other than a heterosexual relationship it can be seen as analogous to political sedition. Both Radcliffe and Wollstonecraft have an idea of female selfhood (Moers, p126) that the Gothic novel attempts to convey to the implied female reader. In this extract from The Italian Ellena has been sent to the convent of San Stefano under the supervision of the merciless Lady Abbess. Radcliffes typical heroine is clearly delineated (Botting, p87) as composed and rational responding to cruelty with reason. Ellena is an optimistic character as even though she has been imprisoned she has prepared her mind to meet it with fortitude. The extract is a lengthy statement where Ellena asserts her resolve and is prepared to meet whatever suffering is thrust upon her. The Gothic Novel came to be dominated by women in the eighteenth century; written for women, its central individual was a girl who the writers would use to challenge feminine sexuality norms. However Radcliffe cannot challenge these norms outright as it would be seen to be seditious so Ellena does not pose a direct threat to men unlike Eliza Fenwicks revolutionary women. Ann

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Radcliffes gothic female was used to express some of the quandaries of female sexuality and hopefully provoke a response in the reader that would change how she viewed these in her own life. Radcliffe wanted women to develop a sense of independence and sexuality so it is apparent that her characters were educational characters. The idea of the Radcliffean heroine is that The reader will project her feelings (Wolff, p103) onto the heroine. Ellena is a valuable example of a typical gothic heroine as she displays the distinctive qualities that Wollstonecraft, Radcliffe and Fenwick attempt to portray. What is significant about Ellena as a gothic heroine is that whilst fictions by male writers were inclined to have the woman weep at the discovery of her imprisonment, Radcliffe has her heroine react with dignity. However Ellena does partake too heavily in the cult of sensibilty (Botting, p65) pondering melancholically on her predicament and oppression. All things considered The Italian presents female intelligence and power as a reality rather than a fictional ideology. Word Count: 1481

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Bibliography Botting, Fred. Gothic. London New York: Routledge, 1996. Bruhm, Steven. Gothic bodies : the politics of pain in romantic fiction. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994. Fenwick, . Secresy [sic], or, The ruin on the rock. Peterborough, Ont: Broadview Press, 1998. Heller, Tamar. Dead secrets : Wilkie Collins and the female gothic. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992. Moers, Ellen. Literary women. London: Women's Press, 1986. Wolff, Cynthia. The Radcliffean Gothic Model: A Form for Feminine Sexuality. Modern Language Studies , Vol. 9, No. 3, Eighteenth-Century Literature (Autumn, 1979), pp. 98-113 Wollstonecraft, Mary. Mary ; and, the wrongs of woman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Wollstonecraft, Mary. A vindication of the rights of woman. Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications, 1996.