RUTH: AN UNUSUAL PROSTITUTE. ELIZABETH GASKELL’S SPECULATIVE GAZE VS. VICTORIAN MASCULINE VISION OF WOMAN
RUTH: AN UNUSUAL PROSTITUTE. ELIZABETH GASKELL’S SPECULATIVE GAZE VS. VICTORIAN MASCULINE VISION OF WOMAN
Author(s): Carla FuscoSubject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Editura Universităţii de Vest din Timişoara / Diacritic Timisoara
Keywords: action; fallen woman; labor; masculine judgement; prostitution; work;
Summary/Abstract: In a society based on prudery and repression of female sexuality, a prostitute reinforced the masculine dichotomised image of woman: Madonna/harlot. Prostitutes were liminal characters of subplots, until Gaskell’s Ruth. The unlucky destiny of an unwed mother, compelled to work as a dressmaker in slavery condition, was supposed to be disturbing enough to shake Victorian hypocrisy. The aim of my study is to analyze the novel as a contrasting counterpart of Victorian social beliefs and show the hermeneutic complexity of the protagonist who reacts by creating her own position in society without becoming a rebel.
Journal: B.A.S. British and American Studies
- Issue Year: 2015
- Issue No: 21
- Page Range: 55-60
- Page Count: 6
