Megan Hoffman Phd Thesis

WOMEN WRITING WOMEN : GENDER AND REPRESENTATION IN BRITISH 'GOLDEN AGE' CRIME FICTION Megan Hoffman A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2012 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11910 This item is protected by original copyright Women Writing Women: Gender and Representation in British ‘Golden Age’ Crime Fiction Megan Hoffman This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 4 July 2012 ii ABSTRACT In this thesis, I examine representations of women and gender in British ‘Golden Age’ crime fiction by writers including Margery Allingham, Christianna Brand, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, Josephine Tey and Patricia Wentworth. I argue that portrayals of women in these narratives are ambivalent, both advocating a modern, active model of femininity, while also displaying with their resolutions an emphasis on domesticity and on maintaining a heteronormative order, and that this ambivalence provides a means to deal with anxieties about women’s place in society. This thesis is divided thematically, beginning with a chapter on historical context which provides an overview of the period’s key social tensions. Chapter II explores depictions of women who do not conform to the heteronormative order, such as spinsters, lesbians and ‘fallen’ women. Chapter III looks at the ways in which the courtships and marriages of detective couples attempt to negotiate the ideal of companionate marriage and the pressures of a ‘cult of domesticity’. Chapter IV considers the ways in which depictions of women in schools, universities and the workplace are used to explore the tensions between an expanding role in the public sphere and the demand to inhabit traditionally domestic roles. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the image of female victims’ and female killers’ bodies and the ways in which such depictions can be seen to expose issues of gender, class and identity. Through its examination of a wide variety of texts and writers in the period 1920 to the late 1940s, this thesis investigates the ambivalent nature of modes of femininity depicted in Golden Age crime fiction written by women, and argues that seemingly conservative resolutions are often attempts to provide a ‘modern-yet-safe’ solution to the conflicts raised in the texts iii 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Megan Hoffman, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in [September, 2008] and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in [September, 2009]; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between [2008] and [2012]. Date …… signature of candidate ……… 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date …… signature of supervisor ……… 3. Permission for electronic publication: (to be signed by both candidate and supervisor) In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: (ii) Access to [all] of printed copy but embargo of [all] of electronic publication of thesis for a period of 5 years (maximum five) on the following ground(s): publication would preclude future publication. Date …… signature of candidate …… signature of supervisor ……… iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am extremely grateful for the enormous amount of support that so many people have given me throughout the completion of this project. Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the School of English at the University of St Andrews for awarding me the A.F. Falconer Memorial Scholarship. I would also like to thank the staff of the University of St Andrews Library, particularly the Inter-Library Loans Department, for their help on many occasions. Many thanks also to Sandra McDevitt for all the help she has given me throughout my time as a postgraduate at St Andrews; her calm presence and ability to know the answer to everything are near-legendary. I am exceptionally grateful to Professor Gill Plain, whose generous advice, wisdom and patience have made her the best supervisor anyone could ask for. I am also thankful to Dr Emma Sutton for the tea and sympathy over the years as well as for her very generous offer to proofread sections from this thesis. I was extremely fortunate to begin my postgraduate career at St Andrews with an extraordinary group of people. Therefore, I would like to extend special thanks to the other students in the 2007/08 Women, Writing and Gender MLitt in the School of English, for many memorable occasions of sharing thought-provoking conversation, friendship and food. Particular thanks must go to Jessica DeSanta, with whom evenings at the Satin Doll were always a welcome distraction from the everyday frustrations of producing a thesis. I am also very grateful to Huw Lloyd Richards and Joyce Taylor Richards, whose house in Kingsbarns has been a peaceful and beautiful space in which to write much of this thesis. Their friendship, as well as that of Lewis and Skye, has been a great joy. Thanks also to my brother, Joel Hoffman, for his support as well as for lending both his library card and his time in order to help me obtain some valuable sources. v It is no exaggeration to say that this thesis owes its existence in its finished state to Dr Ben Davies. I cannot thank him enough for the benefit of his proofreading skills, as well as for the astonishing depth of his confidence, patience and love. It is no small thing to have found someone with whom to eat apples. Finally, this thesis is dedicated to my parents, Neal and Colleen Hoffman, whose unwavering love and support have sustained me throughout my life. vi CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter I. Change and Anxiety: Historical Context 16 1. Women’s Education 20 2. Careers and the Workplace 23 3. Marriage and Motherhood 30 3.1 Birth Control 34 3.2 The Cult of Domesticity 36 4. Spinsters 39 5. Homosexuality 41 Chapter II. ‘Everybody Needs an Outlet’: Nonconforming Women in the Genre 44 1. Nonconforming Women as Detectives: Miss Climpson 48 2. Nonconforming Women as Detectives: Miss Silver 57 3. Nonconforming Women as Detectives: Miss Marple 64 4. Nonconforming Women as Detectives: Mrs. Bradley 69 5. Nonconforming Women as Victims and Villains: Overture to Death and Murder is Easy 72 6. Strong Poison: The Vilified Victim 81 Chapter III. A Joint Venture?: Love, Partnership and Marriage 85 1. ‘Treat ’em Rough?’: Courtship in Artists in Crime and Death in a White Tie 92 vii 2. Partner, Interrupted: Representing Companionate Relationships in the Work of Margery Allingham and Dorothy L. Sayers 109 3. ‘Happily Ever Afterwards’: Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence 121 Chapter IV. Ladies of a Modern World: Education and Work 127 1. ‘In Her Own Place’: Successful Communities of Women in Gaudy Night and St Peter’s Finger 132 2. Quite Normal?: Stereotypes and Sexuality in Miss Pym Disposes and Laurels Are Poison 145 3. ‘A Most “Natural” Reaction’: Personal and Professional Conflict in The Fashion in Shrouds and Death in High Heels 164 Chapter V. Sensational Bodies: Bodies of Women Villains and Victims in Golden Age Crime Fiction 178 1. ‘Not an Ordinary Murderess’: The Body of the Killer in Lord Edgware Dies, Unnatural Death, Dumb Witness and Peril at End House 181 2. ‘Erased From the Page’: The Body of the Victim in Speedy Death, The Body in the Library and Evil Under the Sun 199 Conclusion 216 Bibliography 220 INTRODUCTION Crime fiction provides an ideal space in which to explore issues that accompany changing models of femininity. As a genre, certain elements are already required; the potential for deviance through transgressing social codes – the ‘law’ – is essential to the plot of a crime novel. At the same time, the crime genre requires resolution; the break in law and order must be mended by an all-powerful detective figure.1 While predominantly conservative, this formula allows a ‘safe’ textual space for the exploration of anxieties surrounding constructions of femininity in the period during which British ‘Golden Age’ crime fiction was being written.

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