Folklore in British literature
Subtitle: naming and narrating in women's fiction, 1750-1880
By: Sarah R. Wakefield.
Series: Studies on themes and motifs in literature,; v. 80
Publisher: Peter Lang
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 176
Subjects: English fiction -- 19th century -- History and criticism.; Folklore in literature.; Literature and folklore -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.; Literature and folklore -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.; Women and literature -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.; Women and literature -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century.; English fiction -- Women authors -- History and criticism.; English fiction -- 19th century -- History and criticism.; Narration (Rhetoric) -- History -- 19th century.; Narration (Rhetoric) -- History -- 18th century.
Description: "Folklore provides a metaphor for insecurity in British women's writing published between 1750 and 1880. When characters feel uneasy about separations between races, classes, or sexes, they speak of mermaids and "Cinderella" to make threatening women unreal and thus harmless. Because supernatural creatures change constantly, a name or story from folklore merely reinforces fears about empire, labor, and desire. To illustrate these fascinating rhetorical strategies, this book explores works by Sarah Fielding, Ann Radcliffe, Sydney Owenson, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Anne Thackeray, and Jean Ingelow, pushing our understanding of allusions to folktales, fairy tales, and myths beyond "happily ever after.""--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.