Confronting the Monster: An Analysis of the Female Gothic

The female Gothic emerged, some argue, around the eighteenth century. It is a genre uniquely written by women and reflective of their sociopolitical realities. As in traditional Gothic literature, fear drives the plot and is a defining element. But in the female Gothic, the heroine's fear is of self-expression: creativity, intelligence, sexuality ? these are seen as monstrous. Even more frightening is that these traits cannot be suppressed; they eventually re-emerge, threatening both the heroine and the patriarchal order around her. Women had to be the ?Angel-in-the-House,? a term popularized by Coventry Patmore in the nineteenth century. However, as this book examines, in more recent Gothic fiction writen by women, heroines embrace self-expression to undermine patriarchy. They are no longer deemed as monstrous or deviant if they step outside of women?s traditional roles ? yet there is still gain to be made. This book will appeal to anyone with an interest in Gothic fiction, women writers, art, and feminist theory.