Queering Gothic in the Romantic Age: The Penetrating Eye

Queering Gothic in the Romantic Age argues that Gothic writing of the Romantic period is queer. Discussing a variety of texts, it studies how contemporary queer theory can help us to read the obliqueness and invisibility of same-sex desire in a culture of vigilance over transgressive sexuality. It articulates the complex manifestations of desire through examining the discourses of the body, in particular the gaze, and shows how the Gothic's ambivalent gender politics destabilize heteronormative narratives and gives a voice to queer desires.