Realism, Myth and the Painter in British Literature, 1800-1855
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
VYING FOR AUTHORITY: REALISM, MYTH, AND THE PAINTER IN BRITISH LITERATURE, 1800-1855 A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Margaret J. Godbey May, 2010 Examining Committee Members: Sally Mitchell, Advisory Chair, English Susan Wells, English Peter Logan, English Kristine Garrigan, English, DePaul University, Chicago Margaret Diane Stetz, External Member, English, University of Delaware © Copyright 2010 by Margaret J. Godbey All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT Over the last forty years, nineteenth-century British art has undergone a process of recovery and reevaluation. For nineteenth-century women painters, significant reevaluation dates from the early 1980s. Concurrently, the growing field of interart studies demonstrates that developments in art history have significant repercussions for literary studies. However, interdisciplinary research in nineteenth-century painting and literature often focuses on the rich selection of works from the second half of the century. This study explores how transitions in English painting during the first half of the century influenced the work of British writers. The cultural authority of the writer was unstable during the early decades. The influence of realism and the social mobility of the painter led some authors to resist developments in English art by constructing the painter as a threat to social order or by feminizing the painter. For women writers, this strategy was valuable for it allowed them to displace perceptions about emotional or erotic aspects of artistic identity onto the painter. Connotations of youth, artistic high spirits, and unconventional morality are part of the literature of the nineteenth-century painter, but the history of English painting reveals that this image was a figure of difference upon which ideological issues of national identity, gender, and artistic hierarchy were constructed. Beginning with David Wilkie, and continuing with Margaret Carpenter, Richard Redgrave and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, I trace the emergence of social commitment and social realism in English painting. Considering art and artists from the early decades in relation to depictions of the painter in texts by Maria Edgeworth, Edward Bulwer Lytton, iii Mary Shelley, Joseph Le Fanu, Felicia Hemans, Lady Sydney Morgan, and William Makepeace Thackeray, reveals patterns of representation that marginalized British artists. However, writers such as Letitia Elizabeth Landon and Robert Browning supported contemporary painting and rejected literary myths of the painter. Articulating disparities between the lived experience of painters and their representation calls for modern literary critics to reassess how nineteenth-century writers wrote the painter, and why. Texts that portray the painter as a figure of myth elide gradations of hierarchy in British culture and the important differentiations that exist within the category artist. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Over the years, many people have provided me with guidance and support. I would not have been able to begin, much less complete, a doctoral degree without them. Maureen Pelta‘s whole-hearted encouragement while I was teaching at Moore College of Art and Design prompted me to finally apply to Temple‘s graduate program. From the English department at DePaul University in Chicago, I thank William Fahrenbach, Helen Marlborough, and most of all, Kristine Garrigan for inspiring me to continue my studies. Kristine Garrigan‘s Victorian Poetry class stimulated my interest in nineteenth-century British art, and I am grateful that she agreed to join my dissertation committee. I have been lucky to enjoy the friendship of three outstanding Victorian scholars: Andrea Cabus, Katherine Malone, and Anna Peak. Over the years, their energetic conversation, kind companionship, and sound criticism on reading, writing, and teaching – always accompanied by good food and good wine – has been a blessing. Along with members of the British Studies Writing Group, their remarks on chapter drafts were always helpful. My dissertation committee‘s thought-provoking questions and challenging comments together with unfailing support was invaluable as I navigated each stage of this project. I am thankful for the instruction and guidance of Susan Wells, Peter Logan, and Kristine Garrigan. Furthermore, I am truly grateful to have had Sally Mitchell as my dissertation supervisor. She modeled for Andrea, Kathy, Anna, and I all that is best in our profession. Her wise guidance and sound, practical advice influence my research, writing, v and teaching. Any falling short of her meticulous scholarship in the following pages is entirely my own. My children Michael and Caitlin have been patient beyond their years as I moved through course work, the language exam, the qualifying exams, and the dissertation. I hope that along the way I managed to convey my enthusiasm for this work, just as my father John Charles Godbey developed it in me. My mother, Greta Godbey, is a source of inspiration and strength. She provided countless hours of childcare and many delicious meals. Finally, I would like to thank my husband David who proposed marriage to a financially successful businesswoman but ended up married to a graduate student. Thank you for ordering pizza when needed, making sure there was always an ink cartridge available, and for having confidence in me. For all this, and so much more, thank you. vi In Memoriam John Charles Godbey 1927 - 1999 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................... v DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: THE PAINTER AS A FIGURE OF DIFFERENCE ............... 1 2. REALISM, DAVID WILKIE, AND THE PAINTER‘S MYTH ........................... 37 3. IGNORING THE WOMAN PAINTER: BRITISH WOMEN WRITERS, ART, AND ITALY.................................................................................................... 91 4. THIRD-RATE PAINTERS AND FIRST-RATE WRITERS: THACKERAY AND REALISM ........................................................................... 139 5. APPROPRIATING MYTH: ROBERT BROWNING, DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI, AND THE IDEA OF THE PAINTER .............................................. 184 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 227 viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1.1 William Hogarth, Marriage à La Mode, Scene II. 1743 ............................................ 11 1.2 Gustave Courbet, The Stonebreakers, 1849-50 .......................................................... 13 1.3 Richard Redgrave, The Governess, 1844 .................................................................... 15 1.4 Luke Fildes, Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward, 1874............................... 16 1.5 Hubert von Herkomer, On Strike, 1891 ...................................................................... 17 1.6 David Wilkie, Pitlessie Fair, 1804 .............................................................................. 18 2.1 Davie Wilkie, Card Players, 1808 .............................................................................. 40 2.2 David Wilkie, Village Politicians, 1806 ..................................................................... 43 2.3 Joshua Reynolds, Mrs. Billington as St. Cecilia, 1789 .............................................. 47 2.4 David Wilkie, Portrait of a Gamekeeper, 1811.......................................................... 55 2.5 David Wilkie, The Letter of Introduction, 1813 ......................................................... 56 2.6 David Wilkie, The Refusal from Burn‟s „Song of Duncan Grey,‟ 1814 ................... 57 2.7 David Wilkie, Distraining for Rent, 1815 ................................................................... 58 2.8 David Wilkie, Chelsea Pensioners Receiving the London Gazette Extraordinary of Thursday, June 22d 1815, Announcing the Battle of Waterloo!!! 1818-22 ..................................................................................................... 64 2.9 David Wilkie, The Rent Day, 1807.............................................................................. 73 2.10 J.M.W. Turner, The Fighting Temeraire, Tugged to her Last Berth To Be Broken Up, 1838 ........................................................................................................... 76 2.11 John Scarlett Davies, The Library of Benjamin Godfrey Windus, 1835 ................... 78 3.1 Margaret Sarah Carpenter, An Old Woman Spinning Silk, 1816 ............................. 102 ix 3.2 Margaret Sarah Carpenter, The Sisters, 1839 ........................................................... 103 3.3 Margaret Sarah Carpenter, The Love Letter, 1840 ................................................... 104 3.4 The Dying Gladiator, c.220-230 BCE ....................................................................... 111 3.5 Properzia de‘ Rossi, Joseph and the Potipher‟s Wife, c. 1520 ................................ 119 3.6 Thomas Lawrence, Unknown Sitter,