Female Gothic Interpretation On Fingersmith

Sarah Waters is a brilliant writer in Britain.Her novels have been shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Man Booker Prize multiple times.Waters is famous for elaborate description of Victorian era.Besides,most of her works share the same theme which is related to lesbians.Based on these two points,Victorian trilogy including Tipping the Velvet,Affinity and Fingersmith is created.By depicting how lesbians revolt against captivity,look for self-identity,and achieve the success of subversion through their own power,Waters' novels reflect their pursuit of love,independence and freedom in hard situation in the Victorian era.By applying Female Gothic criticism,this thesis interprets the abundant gothic elements in the novel,trying to figure out women's living predicament and oppression under the paternal authority,as well as the marginal condition shared by all lesbians in the Victorian society which is dominated by heterosexual love and marriage.Meanwhile,the injustice and suffering they experience give them strength and power,making them get subversion successfully.The thesis tries to interpret Fingersmith from three parts.First of all,through analyzing the madness in Sue and Maud,it points out their existential predicament,being confined because of their gender.On the one hand,Sue,as a representative of the vulnerable group in women,the madness in her shows her living dilemma in the patriarchal society.On the other hand,Maud,the representative of the so-called upper class women,the madness in her shows her living predicament.Next,by interpreting the violence in the novel,the thesis indicates how women suffer from oppression in the patriarchal society.One is the violence in the Briar Manor,referring to the violence that Maud suffers and the violence she gives to her servant.The other is the violence that Sue suffers in the madhouse.The third part elaborates how women fight against adversity and injustice through their own power and their self-reliance by analyzing the success of subversion.The first aspect is the subversion of the patriarchal society,while the second aspect is the subversion of the traditional marriage in the Victorian era.Because of gender,only by having marriage with men can lesbians get protection.Because of sexual inclination,they experience secular discrimination and spiritual torment,struggling in the shadow of heterosexual love and marriage.The thesis aims to indicate that Through mutual help within each other,Women can liberate themselves from the oppression coming from society and family.