Introduction: Throughout all the texts we have read in this class, most share a common theme: women in captivity, mentally and physically. In this I will provide quotes from a few different modern British literature texts we have read in class that represent this common theme. I will then follow it with an explanation, including outside sources that assist in explaining just how these quotes match the theme and why it matters.
Theme: Women in captivity throughout Modern British Literature
Example #1: Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre’
“The red-room was a square chamber, very seldom slept in, I might say never, indeed, unless when a chance influx of visitors at Gateshead Hall rendered it necessary to turn to account all the accommodation it contained: yet it was one of the largest and stateliest chambers in the mansion. A bed supported on massive pillars of mahogany, hung with curtains of deep red damask, stood out like a tabernacle in the centre; the two large windows, with their blinds always drawn down, were half shrouded in festoons and falls of similar drapery; the carpet was red; the table at the foot of the bed was covered with a crimson cloth; the walls were a soft fawn colour with a blush of pink in it; the wardrobe, the toilet-table, the chairs were of darkly polished old mahogany. Out of these deep surrounding shades rose high, and glared white, the piled-up mattresses and pillows of the bed, spread with a snowy Marseilles counterpane. Scarcely less prominent was an ample cushioned easy-chair near the head of the bed, also white, with a footstool before it; and looking, as I thought, like a pale throne.” (Chapter 2).
Explanation: This quote is Jane’s direct description of what the “red room” looks like. This is an example where the “captivity” is quite literal. After speaking her mind about the abuse she was enduring, she was put into this room that she describes as a chamber. This physical captivity of Jane also represented something else to her. According to Joan Z. Anderson who wrote the article titled “Angry Angels: Repression, Containment, and Deviance, in Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre’, Jane’s red room “functions as a motif of “enclosure and escape” (340). Not only Jane, but also the other women in the novel search for the key to release them from their attics and red rooms.” Anderson notes that this text challenges the gender norms that were seen during this time period because of Jane’s outspoken behavior. And also represents the larger picture of women being held in “societal constraints.”
Example #2: Thorold Dickinson’s “Gaslight” (1940)
Bella Mallen: “Why did you ever marry me?” “
Paul Mallen: “When I married you, you were normal. At least I thought you were.”
Explanation: This is a conversation between Bella and her husband Paul. They are living in a house that Paul had previously murdered Bella’s aunt in for some rubies worth a lot of money. Bella is unaware of this and unknowingly marries a man who slowly convinces her that she is crazy in order to find these hidden rubies. The quotes used above are just one of the examples of Paul gaslighting Bella. Over time, he hides items, puts words in her mouth, and convinces others that she is “mad.” This was easily believed because in that day’s society, the men were in control. In an article written by Arwa Haider called “The Cultural History of Gaslighting”, they define this behavior as: ‘Gaslighting’ – meaning psychological abuse, where the victim is led to doubt their own judgement (and sense of reality) through the abuser’s repeated denials, deflections and lies – is often treated as a modern buzzword, although it has appeared in decades of psychoanalytical studies.” This is overwhelmingly prevalent in this movie and Haider goes onto mention how the term “gaslight” actually came from this play that originally came out in 1938. This movie is a perfect example of the theme of women in captivity because of the manipulation Bella was going through. Her captivity was physical along with mental.
Conclusion: Women in captivity has been an ongoing theme in the texts we have read throughout the semester. I thought it would be important to draw attention to the different ways this can be seen. Captivity does not necessarily mean that there must be a physical aspect to it (although there usually is). Captivity is also in the form of manipulation, gaslighting, constant degradation, and emotional abuse. I used these two examples because they are drastically different from one another, and they represent some of the various ways women were controlled throughout history.
Works Cited:
Anderson, Joan Z. “‘Angry Angels: Repression, Containment, and Deviance in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.’” The Victorian Web: Literature, History, and Culture in the Age of Victoria, Lakehead University, 21 Apr. 2004, https://victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/anderson1.html.
Brontë, Charlotte. “Jane Eyre an Autobiography.” The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, David Price, 1 Dec. 2020, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm.
Dickinson, Thorold. “Gaslight.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031359/characters/nm0944087.
Gaslight (1940 Film).”Wikipedia Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Apr. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslight_(1940_film).
Haider, Arwa. “A Cultural History of Gaslighting.” BBC Culture, BBC, 22 Nov. 2019, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191122-cultural-history-of-gaslighting-in-film.