Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s “Lady Audley’s Secret” was published in 1861 and was a big success: a best-seller that sold over one million copies in book form. The protagonist, Helen Maldon – also known as Helen Talboys, Lucy Graham and Lady Audley – is a poor young beautiful woman when she marries the dragoon George Talboys, but his money only lasts for one year of luxury. When he no longer is able to offer her the life she always wanted – and now has got used to – she becomes angry and depressed, and George Talboys leaves the country to dig for gold in order to make his young wife with her new-born baby happy again. Not long after her husband has sailed for Australia, Helen Talboys decides she has had enough of the boring life she leads with her father and child and wants to try to find for herself the things she lacks. She sees an opportunity to start over and she grabs it: she leaves her child, changes her name and goes out as a governess. When the wealthy Sir Michael Audley proposes, she accepts and goes from the life as governess to the life of a Lady. The Lady Audley that we get to know is a woman who is sure of what she wants and will not let anyone stop her, which in the book is described as the acts of a madwoman. But is Lady Audley really insane or simply too ambitious and sure of herself for the Victorian era? Was “insanity” simply the label society attached to female assertion, ambition, self-interest and outrage?
In order to discuss the question of Lady Audley’s madness, we must first understand the Victorian ideas and beliefs regarding insanity. Insanity was believed more common among women than among men and doctors and psychiatrists debated the reason for this. A common view was that women were more vulnerable to insanity than men because of the “instability of their reproductive system” (Showalter, p 55), which interfered with their emotional control. That female insanity was linked with the biological crises of the female life cycle – puberty, pregnancy, childbirth and menopause – during which the female mind was weakened and the symptoms of insanity could emerge, was a common belief (Showalter, p 55). It should be noted that the medical professions were strictly for men and no doubt were all these theories made up by men, with little experience of menstruation, pregnancy or menopause.
Free Essay – Setting in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily
Importance of Setting in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily
Setting is place and time, and often provides more than a mere backdrop for the action of a story. William Faulkner uses this device in his complex short story “A Rose for Emily” to give insight into the lonely world of Miss Emily Grierson.
Faulkner portrays the townspeople and Emily in the southern town of Jefferson during the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. The town is more than just the setting in the story; it takes on its own characterization alongside Emily the main character. It is the main reasoning behind Emily’s attitude and actions. It gives the reader an easier understanding into why Emily makes the decisions she does as the story unwinds.
The town of Jefferson was deeply indirectly involved in the life of Emily Grierson. They watched and debated her every move, being her analyst, they wondering why she did certain things. They had their own idea of who she was and what they wanted her to be. The reason being was that the aristocratic Grierson family that her father headed was very highly recognized in the past era of the Confederacy. Her father had much power and was close to a very popular mayor named Colonel Sartoris.
The power Emily’s father has over Emily can be seen in a portrait of the two that the narrator describes: “Emily a slender woman in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip.” (141) He does in fact control her like a horse, never allowing her to date anyone. And until his death she indeed does not.
After Emily’s father dies, we find her becoming involved with a gay man named Homer Baron who she probably believes she will eventually marry. It is her continual relying on a male figure that gets Emily into this situation. It is the setting in which she lye that has this impact on her thought and understanding.
We eventually find out in the end that Emily kills Homer. She does this not do this out anger or hatred toward this man. It is the belief on her part, that a man has to play a significant role in her life that drives Emily to do this unbelievable act of violence. In her mind this was not a crazy thing to do.