Digging up the past : exploring haunting and trauma-in and of the neo-Victorian novel : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Creative Writing at Massey University, New Zealand

Abstract

This thesis explores haunting in and of the neo-Victorian novel, and representations of female trauma. The thesis consists of two sections: a critical analysis of the way that neo-Victorian texts operate in relationship to their Victorian predecessors to voice historically silenced trauma narratives, which still have relevance in our modern world; and a creative section, the first part of a novel that employs Victorian trauma tropes to tell a story of female suffering and solidarity. Through a close analysis of neo-Victorian novels and their heroines, including Alias Grace and Fingersmith, my critical portion explores how trauma is depicted in ways that challenge our perception of the Victorian culture, and that interrogate contemporary culture. Through reference to Victorian texts, such as Lady Audley’s Secret and The Woman in White, my critical portion will also seek to show how neo-Victorian texts are haunted by their Victorian predecessors, inviting the reader to reimagine the worlds of these originals; but also, to attempt to re-write (or make right) the injustices and traumas that are depicted in these texts. The creative portion uses Victorian sensation tropes, such as a companion protagonist, a hidden past, and an illegitimacy storyline to explore generational trauma and its impact on the present, and attempts to reinterpret the role and voice of the middle-class Victorian heroine. The story hinges around three women, who have retreated to a solitary cottage for the birth of an illegitimate child. It relates the complex web of relationships between these women and their efforts to step outside of the restraints of a patriarchal system.