Female’s Fears And Rebellion:Reading The Mysteries Of Udolpho As A Female Gothic

Famous as "the Great Enchantress", Ann Radcliffe was the pioneer in the Gothic genre who inspired a frenzy of Gothic novels. She was the most famous writer of her day and enjoyed an international reputation. Her writing techniques and style influenced a host of writers such as Walter Scott, Jane Austen, Matthew Lewis, George Gordon Byron, both Shelleys, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the Brontes, Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray in Britain, and Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe in America.Radcliffe’s works have been studied mainly from the psychoanalytic and the feminist perspectives. One of her most discussed works is The Mysteries of Udolpho, published in1794. However, as a classic Female Gothic novel, Udolpho has never been thoroughly analyzed from the perspective of Female Gothic.Based on the theory of Female Gothic, this thesis is aimed to reveal female’s fears and rebellion in the patriarchal society through the analysis of the Female Gothic characteristics of Udolpho.The Female Gothic characteristics in the form of Udolpho will be first examined. It is found that the helplessness of the orphan heroine Emily mirrors the living condition of women oppressed by the patriarchy. The ineffectual hero indicates that if women want to get rid of the oppression, they have to depend on themselves. The double role of the Gothic villain Montoni suggests the dilemma of women—under the persecution by the patriarchal society, women ironically have to seek protection from their oppressor. The terrors in Udolpho turn everything familiar or ordinary into fears and this reflects women’s living condition in male-dominated society where they have to live in terror every day. The castles, monasteries and other similar structures are actually the symbols of the patriarchy.Parallel to the Female Gothic characteristics in form are the feminist themes of the novel. This thesis focuses on the analysis of women’s fears and rebellion. On one hand, the novel exposes the patriarchal oppression of women by exhibiting their fears about marriage, loss of property, freedom, identity and future. On the other hand, it also reveals women’s fight and challenge against patriarchal force and values through the action of some female characters. This thesis has foregrounded Udolpho as a Female Gothic novel by combining the studies of its Gothic form and its feminist themes, hoping to expand the range of Radcliffe study and to further reveal the artistic charm and profound meanings of the novel.