fear

arguments

1) fear of the supernatural in order to emphasise the downfall of their respective characters

2) fear of social rejection and reputation in order to reflect societal values and anxieties of their respective times

3) fears and constraints of societal positions of women are explored to emphasise the vulnerability of women within a patriarchal society

1- TLS: haunting of HH/ haunting of past

emphasises declining social position of the aristocracy in post war britain

1: “ancient paper was drooping from the walls”, “cracked steps”, “split at the seams”

• 1: TLS

• semantic field of disrepair

• creates unsettling gothic imagery which contrasts edwardian expectations of a country house

• perversion of the norm (brought abt by social change) creates an eerie/ unsettling atmosphere

1. TPDG: supernat portrait of dorian gray

• visual representation of the destruction of his soul

• at odds w victorian morality, which prioritised family values, charity and sexual repression

1: “monstrous and loathsome”

1: TPDG

• allusion to mary shelly’s frankenstein’s monster

• emphasises visibly immoral and corrupted soul

1: BOTH: supernatural’s emphasis

1: both novel’s character’s rejection of the societal expectations of their respective periods, whether it be autonomous or not

1: “hysteria”, “shrieking”, “breaking glass”

1:TLS

• motif of madness in response to supernatural

• supernat as unsettlingly ambiguous and malevolent

• characters of rod, mrs ayres and betty, who are acutely aware of awaiting downfall

1: “examine the scene”, “questioned her”, “consider one explanation”

• 1:TLS

• semantic field of scientific investigation when exploring idea of supernat

• adopts position of scientific rationality

1: the “Phantasms of the Living” (1886), “The Night Side of Nature”(1850) and “The Dweller in the Temple”

1: TLS

• motif of gothic fiction to polarise ideas of supernat and rationality when dismissing c’s theories

• creates tension betweenpriority of modern science in post-war industrial Britain -characterised by Faraday- and the Victorian (1837-1901) fascination with the supernatural, which pervaded all forms of art and science, including the emerging genre of the Victorian gothic -characterised by Caroline

• successfully emphasises the vulnerability of the Edwardian upper class, and highlight their impending downfall, ultimately justifying their fear for the supernatural

1: “loathing”, “horrible”, “cruelty”, “look of pain”

1: APDG

• genre of the Victorian gothic, ultimately prioritising a fear for the supernatural over an exploration of scientific rationale

• in order to confront Dorian Gray’s conscience, and his immorality, which, accompanied by the allusions to his fate in hell, of “throbbing cores of flame”, foreshadow his downfall and death.

2: symbolism of D’s portrait vs “pure, bright, innocent”

• 2: TPDG

• symbolises dorian’s hidden sins

• dichotomy of his outward “pure, bright innocent” appearance and his inner corruption

• reveals the fear of social rejection and the need for a façade in Victorian England, which held values of Evangelicalism, sexual restraint and personal improvement.

• The highly visible debauchery characteristic of aristocratic England in the early 19^th century disappeared in the late 1800s, with a reformation of a respectable and polite society, which placed emphasis on one’s outward image. In order to be welcomed into upper class society in Victorian England, it was important that one behaved respectably- or at least, in Dorian’s case, keep up a façade of purity and youth

2:Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man’s face. It cannot be concealed

• 2:TPDG

• dramatic irony

• perpetuates the notion of Aestheticism, which argues that what is beautiful must also be good, and places an importance on maintaining a social façade of innocence and virtue.

2:“How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young

2: TPDG:

• exclamation emphasises fears of growing old/ social rejection

• foreshadows supernatural curse of d’s portrait which leads to an obsessive fear of being found out

2: first person narration of dr f

2: TLS

• fears of reputation lay in family’s fear of social decline, rather than rejection

• to provide insight into the Edwardian upper-class family’s internal and external struggles, showing a sympathetic narrative of the battles between the Ayreses and the changing social landscape of post-war England, which was caused by the introduction of the 1945 Labour Government, which was responsible for introducing the National Insurance Act, the National Assistance Act and the National Health Service, which contributed to the blurring of class lines

2:“Flemish harpsichord”, “crazy jazz”

• juxtaposition and irony

• typically used by upper class in renaissance movt

• juxtaposes against l.c jazz

• emphasises how out of place baker hydes are to setting + shows how gradual blurring of class lines leads to social decline + rejection from respectable society

3: characterisation of LH

3:PDG

• critique the superficial and dismissive attitudes towards women common in Victorian England, which ultimately sheds light on the limitations imposed on their submissive roles in society.

3: no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals

3: TPDG

• motif of misogynistic views ultimately encapsulates societal attitudes towards women, acting as social commentary on the maltreatment of women in the victorian era, who were restricted to the domestic sphere, seen only as housewives and mothers

3: “Juliet”, “Rosalind”, “Imogen”

3: TPDG

• satirises the objectification of women through the motif of an “actress”,

• describes sybil only through the roles she plays → ”), arguing that men do not fall in love with women themselves, but only the roles they play in society.

3: “My father was a scoundrel then!”,

3: TPDG

• fears of women voiced through mrs vane

• exclamatory lang hints at hardships she has endured in victorian society

3: gentleman is wealthy”, “aristocracy”, “perfect gentleman”

3: TPDG

• lexical set of financial security

• emphasise her fears for her daughter, looks for a “brilliant marriage for Sybil” in order to protect her daughter from same hardships that she endured →shared w mrs ayres

3: characterisation of caroline

• 3: TLS

• represents upper-class women caught between traditional expectations and the emerging new roles for women in post-war Britain

• her fears are rooted in the loss of social status and the struggle to find her place in a society that no longer values the aristocracy she was born into.

3: “long, thickish legs”, “flare of her hips and bosom”, “dry, demented locks”

3: TLS

• motif of c’s physical body + juxtaposition between c + mrs ayres symbolises shift in cultural and societal views of women in post war britain

• successfully critiquing patriarchal social norm of edwardian society