Humor, Characterization, Plot: the Role of Secondary Characters in Late Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Marriage Novels

Humor, Characterization, Plot: The Role of Secondary Characters in Late Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Marriage Novels Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Katrina M. Peterson, M.A. Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee: Clare Simmons, Adviser Leslie Tannenbaum Jill Galvan ABSTRACT Many late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British novels utilize laughter as a social corrective, but this same laughter hides other messages about women‘s roles. As the genre‘s popularity widened, writers used novels to express opinions that would be eschewed in other, more established and serious genres. My dissertation argues that humor contributes to narrative meaning; as readers laugh at ―minor‖ characters, their laughter discourages specific behaviors, yet it also masks characters‘ important functions within narrative structure. Each chapter examines one type of humor—irony, parody, satire, and wit—along with a secondary female archetype: the matriarch, the old maid, the monster, and the mentor. Traditionally, the importance of laughter has been minimized, and the role of minor characters understudied. My project seeks to redress this imbalance through focusing on humor, secondary characterization, and plot. Chapter One, ―Irony and The Role of the Matriarch,‖ explores the humorous characterizations of Lady Maclaughlan and Miss Jenkyns within Susan Ferrier‘s Marriage (1818) and Elizabeth Gaskell‘s Cranford (1853). These novels share the following remarkable similarities: 1) they use characterization to unify unusually- structured novels; 2) they focus on humorous figures whose contributions to plot are masked by irony; 3) their matriarchal characters are absent for large portions of the stories; and 4) despite their absences, these figures‘ matriarchal power carries strong feminist implications. ii Chapter Two, ―Parody and the Role of the Old Maid,‖ considers two parodies of the spinster in Ferrier‘s The Inheritance (1824) and Matthew Lewis‘s The Monk (1796), novels that finally affirm the worth of this marginalized figure. Ferrier‘s narrator permits Miss Pratt to contribute to the novel‘s love match and offer her congratulations at the story‘s end. Towards the conclusion of The Monk, Leonella receives the dual rewards of marriage and gifts. Although initially ridiculed, both women act as powerful protector figures to a central heroine. Chapter Three, ―Satire and the Role of the Monster,‖ analyzes the grotesque characterizations of Madame Duval and Mrs. Freke within Frances Burney‘s Evelina (1778) and Maria Edgeworth‘s Belinda (1801). Whereas Madame Duval comes across as hyper-feminine, Harriett Freke falls between genders, complicating essentialist-based notions of identity in the tradition of Gender Trouble. Madame Duval acts as a powerful force moving Evelina towards her destiny. Similarly, Mrs. Freke exerts great influence on the narrative. In both novels, the authorial laughter of the satirist serves to initially cloak the importance of these figures, even as it also points to important messages. Chapter Four, ―Wit and the Roles of Mentor and Protégé,‖ concludes my dissertation with an analysis of mentor and mentee figures in Jane Austen‘s Emma (1816) and Thomas Love Peacock‘s Nightmare Abbey (1818). This exploration of relational networks shows how two different authors acknowledge and modify then-current conceptions about wit, while also differentiating it from other forms of humor. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My sincerest appreciation to the English Department and the members of my committee, whose professionalism and thoughtfulness guided me through the dissertation process. A special acknowledgment belongs to my adviser, Clare Simmons, who first introduced me to Miss Susan Ferrier, and who answered my many questions with wit and patience; I am grateful for her invaluable support. I would also like to thank Marlene Longenecker for introducing me to foundational critical works, and for shaping my ideas of what a teacher should be. The final acknowledgment goes to those who have taught me to laugh: I wish to thank my fellow travelers—faithful family, wise parents, indefatigable siblings, and loving friends—And the One who, most of all, made this possible. iv VITA 2004………....................................................B.A. English, Grace College 2006…………………………………………M.A. Literature, UNC Charlotte 2006-present………………...........................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of English, The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: English v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...ii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………...……..iv Vita…………………………………………………………………………………….......v Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1: Irony and the Role of the Matriarch in Marriage and Cranford……………..17 Chapter 2: Parody and the Role of the Old Maid in The Monk and The Inheritance……75 Chapter 3: Satire and the Role of the Monster in Evelina and Belinda………………...135 Chapter 4: Wit and the Roles of Mentor and Protégé in Emma and Nightmare Abbey...191 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...246 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………250 vi INTRODUCTION This project sprang from an epiphany during my first quarter at The Ohio State University. After reading Susan Ferrier‘s 1818 novel Marriage, I asked classmates about the unique role that Lady Maclaughlan plays in resolving the plot. Their startled silence led me to further research, and I discovered that critics also overlook this seemingly minor, or secondary,1 character. The question of why they overlook her crucial contribution resulted in this conclusion: although Lady Maclaughlan is perhaps the novel‘s most flamboyant and powerful figure, humor relegates her to a secondary role, which in turn cloaks her importance and procures acceptance for traditionally unacceptable behavior. Her husband-bullying, stentorian tones, and idiosyncratic attire all evoke sympathetic laughter—a laughter that blinds readers to the extent of her power over fellow characters, and even over the narrative itself. However, a close examination of the text reveals her surprising, event-shaping influence throughout the novel. Lady Maclaughlan rules supreme as matriarch of Glenfern, all defer to her opinions, and— most importantly—she determines the outcome of the marriage plot. By the work‘s conclusion, Lady Maclaughlan has secured her husband‘s entail by seeing it bestowed on the woman of her choice, through the marriage that she machinates. Readers thus obtain 1 In Jennifer Camden‘s 2005 dissertation ―The Other Woman: Secondary Heroines in the Nineteenth- Century British and American Novel,‖ she defines ―the secondary heroine‖ as one who has been forgotten. She further states that this figure exists ―outside the primary courtship plot of the novel‖ (2). While I agree that many important secondary figures have been overlooked, I adapt Camden‘s definition slightly to show that secondary figures who appear external to the courtship plot often play a more integral role than critics and readers realize. 1 the traditional love match at the novel‘s end, but engineered by a woman who thereby ensures her own freedom outside of marriage. In addition, Maclaughlan follows her admission to the protagonist, ―I wished you to marry him‖ with the words: ―Whether you‘ll thank me for that twenty years hence, I can‘t tell—you can‘t tell—he can‘t tell— God knows—humph!‖ (463). This statement drips with a cynicism undergirded by Maclaughlan‘s experience of multiple marriages, thus potentially questioning or undermining the institution of marriage itself. Her contributions to plot progression privilege this viewpoint, while humor masks the extent of her agency and the implications of her actions in a predominantly patriarchal society. My fascination with the role of Lady Maclaughlan in Marriage led me to wonder if other novels utilize a similar technique. What is the relationship among humor, secondary characterization, and plot progression in late eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century marriage novels? (I use ―marriage novels‖ to designate those that contain marriage as a major theme, many of which end with a love match.) Also, how do such novels use the intersection between specific archetypes and forms of humor to comment on women‘s roles during this time period? Greg Camfield‘s Necessary Madness: The Humor of Domesticity in Nineteenth-Century American Literature (1997) stresses: ―Humor juxtaposes ostensibly incompatible systems of thought to inspire a different order of viewing‖ (xi). The implications of Camfield‘s study stretch across boundaries of nationality to touch the realm of British literature as well. My dissertation shows that humor surrounding prominent secondary characters enables writers to present various viewpoints on marriage and woman‘s lives, thus suggesting the existence of 2 creative alternatives to the norm.2 In other words, the embedding of humor through characterization makes it a catalyst for potentially subversive thought and action.3 To quote Henri Bergson, ―laughter indicates a slight revolt on the surface of social life‖ (190).4 While the relative ―slightness‖ of this revolt is debatable and varies based on context, the idea of laughter as a pointer to potential insurrection underlies my analyses of novels within the Romantic and Victorian traditions. The contrast between male- and female-authored

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