Narrative Strategies of the Nineteenth-Century Female Revisionist Amy Criniti Phillips
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Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 2011 Private Reader, Public Redactor: Narrative Strategies of the Nineteenth-Century Female Revisionist Amy Criniti Phillips Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Phillips, A. (2011). Private Reader, Public Redactor: Narrative Strategies of the Nineteenth-Century Female Revisionist (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1043 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PRIVATE READER, PUBLIC REDACTOR: NARRATIVE STRATEGIES OF THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY FEMALE REVISIONIST A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Amy Criniti Phillips May 2011 Copyright by Amy Criniti Phillips 2011 PRIVATE READER, PUBLIC REDACTOR: NARRATIVE STRATEGIES OF THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY FEMALE REVISIONIST By Amy Criniti Phillips Approved March 28, 2011 ________________________________ ________________________________ Laura Callanan, Ph.D. Laura Engel, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English Associate Professor of English Committee Chair Committee Member ________________________________ Daniel P. Watkins, Ph.D. Professor of English Committee Member ________________________________ ________________________________ Christopher M. Duncan, Ph.D. Magali Cornier Michael, Ph.D. Dean, McAnulty College and Chair, Department of English Graduate School of Liberal Arts Professor of English iii ABSTRACT PRIVATE READER, PUBLIC REDACTOR: NARRATIVE STRATEGIES OF THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY FEMALE REVISIONIST By Amy Criniti Phillips May 2011 Dissertation supervised by Laura Callanan, Ph.D. This dissertation investigates the vital role of the private female reading experience in the creation of the mid-Victorian British woman writer‘s authorial persona. In particular, I examine the role of the female redactor, a woman writer who revises a particular text, genre, or convention within a patriarchal literary tradition. The public and private contexts of the female redactor become imperative to the text that she creates, for the final narrative product is not only a public revision but also a series of private, gendered negotiations that define the woman writer and determine her contribution to female authorship. With a specific focus on Geraldine Jewsbury, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, I closely examine the ways in which these female redactors invoke and challenge male-authored texts within an established patriarchal literary tradition in order to create for themselves a distinctly female literary identity. Chapter One centers on Geraldine Jewsbury‘s feminist revision of Thomas Carlyle‘s gospel of work in her novel, The Half iv Sisters (1848), in which Jewsbury emphasizes the importance of women‘s work in Victorian England. Chapter Two explores the manner in which Elizabeth Barrett Browning— inspired by John Donne‘s Songs and Sonets (1633) in her own Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850)—engages in a gendered revision of the Petrarchan sonnet, both in content and form, in order to represent realistically the complex poetic place of woman as desiring subject, desired object, and empowered female poet. Chapter Three examines Mary Elizabeth Braddon‘s The Doctor’s Wife (1864), in which Braddon aims to subvert critical understandings of high and low literary culture that dismiss the value of both the female consumer and the sensation genre. I conclude with a brief epilogue, which focuses on two contemporary revisions of nineteenth-century female-authored texts: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Jane Slayre. These co-authored revisions of classic nineteenth- century texts, which simultaneously lampoon and pay homage to nineteenth-century female authorship, highlight the importance not only of revision as a narrative strategy for constructing authorial identity but also of a nineteenth-century female literary tradition that mid-Victorian female redactors aimed to establish. v DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to the late Albert C. Labriola, a world-renowned scholar, distinguished professor, mentor, and beloved friend. I couldn‘t have ―gotten out of the nest‖ without his infinite guidance, wisdom, humor, and friendship. Thanks for stopping, ACL—you‘ve played an epic role in my life. ―Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.‖ –John Milton vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I must begin by thanking two very important people whose insights, guidance, and literary interests inspired me to write this dissertation. Firstly, I thank the late Albert C. Labriola, my dear friend and mentor, who introduced me to the love poetry of John Donne. As his research assistant I devoted seven years to The Donne Variorum, and—to Dr. Labriola‘s great satisfaction and my own dismay—I eventually developed an affinity for Donne‘s love poetry. Secondly, I thank my dissertation director, Laura Callanan, for her unwavering support, infinite patience, constructive feedback, and sound advice throughout the dissertation process. My profound experiences in the first graduate class that Laura taught at Duquesne actually inspired me to pursue a Ph.D. in English, and she has been ―stuck‖ with me ever since. Moreover, it was in her ―Victorian Poetry‖ course that I first became fixated on the literary connection between Elizabeth Barrett Browning and John Donne and fell in love with the concept of revision. Thus, my dissertation originated from the symbolic marriage of two outstanding professors, each of whom struck a perfect balance between gently guiding me on the path to scholarly success and constantly challenging me to reach my full potential as an academic. I am eternally grateful for their support, wisdom, and mentorship, which have made me into the scholar, teacher, and person that I am today. I would like to thank the other two members of my dissertation committee, Laura Engel and Dan Watkins, whose detailed and prompt feedback, encouragement, and enthusiasm for my scholarship have been invaluable to the formation of this dissertation. vii They are two of the finest teachers, scholars, and individuals I have ever met, and I am constantly humbled by their steadfast commitment to my own academic pursuits. Though too numerous to list individually, I thank the exceptional and supportive graduate students at Duquesne University who befriended me throughout this process and served as a constant source of advice, encouragement, and entertainment. In particular, I thank Heather Shippen Cianciola, Kristianne Kalata Vaccaro, Rita Allison Kondrath, and Amanda Johnson—four of my dearest friends and unofficial mentors—for blazing the academic trail before me and assuring me that I could follow in their brilliant footsteps. I also extend my most heartfelt thanks to Matthew Vickless for his patience, commiseration, and companionship. Circumstance (i.e., The Donne Variorum) may have brought us together, but choice (and lots of coffee) made us friends. I express my sincere appreciation to the staff of the Center for Teaching Excellence—Laurel Willingham-McLain, Steve Hansen, and Karen Krzywicki—who are among the kindest and most supportive people I have ever encountered. They not only provided constant reassurance but also forced me, on countless occasions, to leave the office and honor my commitment to my own scholarship. I thank my parents, Stephen and Kathryn Criniti, and my siblings, Jen and Stephen, for their love, generosity, support, and advice throughout my career as a graduate student. I especially thank my older brother, Stephen, whose pursuit of the same subject matter and degree—he received his Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature from the University of Cincinnati in 2008—forged an eternal bond between us and forced him to serve as his little sister‘s ad hoc advisor. viii I cannot forget Panera Bread, my home away from home, where I wrote most of the dissertation. Although I witnessed a drastic forty-two-cent price increase in my decaf coffee ($1.07 to $1.49!!!) and endured countless hours of horrible Muzak, I thank the staff for kindly allowing me to loiter in their facility at least three days a week for the past 6 ½ years. Lastly, I don‘t think words could possibly express how grateful I am to my husband, Mark Phillips, without whom I truly could not have made it through this process. His humility, hard work, and unselfish devotion to our marriage provided me with the financial security and motivation to pursue my dreams of earning a doctoral degree. More important, it was because of his daily encouragement, his unwavering belief in my abilities as a scholar, his willingness to read parts of the dissertation (over and over) and provide me with constructive feedback, and his unconditional love that I made it to the other side. To my husband, my soul mate, and my hero, I am eternally grateful. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................. iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................