le GSA Memorial Prize à Marilyn Mallia pour sa thèse,
« L’importance du roman gothique dans les premiers romans de George Sand ».
Abstract of Marilyn Mallia’s dissertation, « L’importance du roman gothic
anglais dans les premiers romans de George Sand »
This study analyses the novels of the first decade of George Sand’s literary career
through the lens of the English gothic novel, especially the works of Ann Radcliffe
and Matthew Lewis. Critics have addressed the links between Sand and her literary
predecessors or contemporaries, such as Rousseau and Balzac; however, the omgssion
of English gothic novelists is an important gap which needs to be tackled. By linking
Sand to cross-channel writers, we emphasize her permeability to European tradition
s, while demonstrating how her rewriting of the genre gives rise to what Orr calls
a ‘positive influence’ (Orr, 2003). Our thesis highlights the active way in which
Sand reappropriates the parameters of the gothic genre and remolds them to advance
her own concerns: the possibilities of female agency during the Restoration, in light
of the constraints of the Napoleonic code. The corpus analyzed consists of the first
Sand novels with eponymous heroines, which are also framed by the Revolutions of
1830 and 1848. Close readings of Indiana, Valentine, the two Lélia, Mauprat, Consuelo
and La Comtesse de Rudolstadt will therefore focus on three gothic pressure points
reconfigured by Sand.
An analysis of the doubling of Sand’s gothic heroines sheds light on Sand’s treatment
of ideological issues surrounding female sexuality, such as excess and transgression.
Sand’s gothic itineraries reveal the different ordeals faced by her heroines, including
imprisonment, in order to accede to a greater sense of agency. Finally, the gothic
dénouement enables Sand to indicate the persisting conundrums for the choice of
the gothic heroine’s final destiny. Through her revision of the ending, she aims to offer
her heroines a more enabling end than marriage or death. The gothic model thus
emerges as a fruitful exploratory tool which allows Sand to tackle important questions
concerning her egalitarian political and sexual ideals.
« L’importance du roman gothique dans les premiers romans de George Sand ».
Abstract of Marilyn Mallia’s dissertation, « L’importance du roman gothic
anglais dans les premiers romans de George Sand »
This study analyses the novels of the first decade of George Sand’s literary career
through the lens of the English gothic novel, especially the works of Ann Radcliffe
and Matthew Lewis. Critics have addressed the links between Sand and her literary
predecessors or contemporaries, such as Rousseau and Balzac; however, the omgssion
of English gothic novelists is an important gap which needs to be tackled. By linking
Sand to cross-channel writers, we emphasize her permeability to European tradition
s, while demonstrating how her rewriting of the genre gives rise to what Orr calls
a ‘positive influence’ (Orr, 2003). Our thesis highlights the active way in which
Sand reappropriates the parameters of the gothic genre and remolds them to advance
her own concerns: the possibilities of female agency during the Restoration, in light
of the constraints of the Napoleonic code. The corpus analyzed consists of the first
Sand novels with eponymous heroines, which are also framed by the Revolutions of
1830 and 1848. Close readings of Indiana, Valentine, the two Lélia, Mauprat, Consuelo
and La Comtesse de Rudolstadt will therefore focus on three gothic pressure points
reconfigured by Sand.
An analysis of the doubling of Sand’s gothic heroines sheds light on Sand’s treatment
of ideological issues surrounding female sexuality, such as excess and transgression.
Sand’s gothic itineraries reveal the different ordeals faced by her heroines, including
imprisonment, in order to accede to a greater sense of agency. Finally, the gothic
dénouement enables Sand to indicate the persisting conundrums for the choice of
the gothic heroine’s final destiny. Through her revision of the ending, she aims to offer
her heroines a more enabling end than marriage or death. The gothic model thus
emerges as a fruitful exploratory tool which allows Sand to tackle important questions
concerning her egalitarian political and sexual ideals.
