Representations of Mystery and the Supernatural in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Gothic Tales

Introduction

This dissertation will examine and analyse two of the macabre and Gothic tales from the English author Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865); The Old Nurse’s Story (1852) and The Poor Clare (1857). (Gaskell & Kranzler. 2000: vii-ix). Indicating and demonstrating how representations of mystery (secrecy) and the supernatural are used as vehicles of imagination, expression and exploration into the hidden depths of the female psyche (spirit) through the use of Gothic fiction within the Victorian era (1837-1901). (Landlow. 2009).

Exploring the depths of the macabre ‘disturbing because concerned with death or injury’ (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 451) and the Gothic ‘gloomy and horrifying’ (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 325), I intend to delve and explore into the identity of the feminine-self. “The topic of the self has long been salient in feminist philosophy, for it is pivotal to questions about personhood, identity, the body, and agency that feminism must address. In some respects, Simone de Beauvoir's trenchant observation, “He is the Subject, he is the Absolute—she is the Other,” sums up why the self is such an important issue for feminism.” (Meyers. 2010). Within this dissertation it is relevant to look at the surrounding issues of personhood, identity and the body of the female subject situated in Victorian society to gain insight to the hidden depths of the feminine-self expressed through Gothic fiction.

Discussing the aspects of the feminine-self will highlight and expose the darker and intimate issues of the female Gothic. ‘The female Gothic plot, exemplified by Radcliffe (1764-1823), centralised the imprisoned and pursued heroine threatened by a tyrannical male figure, it explained the supernatural’ (Wa...

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