"WIFE, MOTHER, AND QUEEN...": IMAGES OF QUEEN VICTORIA IN THE ILLUSTRATED PRESS, 1841-1861 Virginia McKendry B.G.S., Simon Fraser University, 1991 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Women's Studies O Virginia McKendry 1993 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY April 1993 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. Approval Name: Virginia McKendry Degree: Master of Arts (Women's Studies) Title of thesis: "Wife, Mother and Queen...": Images of Queen Victoria in the Illustrated Press, 1841- 186 1 Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Marjorie Cohen - --- -.-- , ~r.M& Lynn Stewart ' Senior Supervisor Departments of History and Women's Studies Simon Fraser University - ~- -"- -*-* Professor Andrea ~eboditz Second Committee Member Departments of English and Women's Studies Simon Fraser University / - - - ,I \ Dr. Ian Dyck \ Internal External Examiner Department of History Simon Fraser University Date Approved: k AdLq7-3 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser Universlty the right toI lend my thesis, proJect or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users ot the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of Its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. T i P Ie of Thes i s/Project/Extended Essay ''Wi fe. Mother and Queen.. .If: l maqes of Queen Victoria in the l l lustrated Press, 1841-1861. Author: I- - I e I (date) Abstract Is the "body politic" of the British sovereign subverted, enhanced or affected in any way by the fact that its corresponding "body natural" is female'? Hundreds of images of Queen Victoria appeared in two popular British periodicals over two decades that roughly coincided with the period of marriage and motherhood preceding the death of Prince Albert and the Queen's subsequent withdrawal from the public eye. A comparison of royal imagery from two middle-class weeklies shows the extent to which the expanding economic power of the middle classes dictated the contents of their media, and how the "truths" constructed there were rarely fixed. Queen Victoria's femininity both restricted and extended the range of possible representations of royal power within the context of a constantly shifting cultural discourse on "woman," a discourse that provided the material and psychic contours of a middle-class ideology founded on definitions of "family". Taxonomies of the imagery in the Illustrated London News (IWV) and Punch show how royal imagery changed over the years to reflect both changes in the fortunes of the Royal Family 1 and in the wider socigl and historical context. Queen Victoria's femininity both restricted and extended the range of possible representations of royal power within the context of a constantly shifting cultural discourse on "woman." The icon of maternity worshipped in the ILN could be lambasted by Punch on the very same grounds of sovereignty and femininity, but a deeper analysis illuminates gender as the conceptual ground shared by these otherwise ideologically antithetical weeklies. Images of the Queen during the early years of her reign illustrate the centrality of gender to Victorian middle-class cultural hegemony, as well as the representational strategies that served to re-invigorate popular acceptance of an ailing British monarchy. Dedication To the memory of dear Franck, who shared his love of learning with me. Acknowledgments Many people helped to bring this thesis to fruition. My supervisor, Mary Lynn Stewart, has been an inspiration and a mentor throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies, and I am grateful for such a skilled and generous introduction to the life of the mind. I owe much to Andrea Lebowitz for her close and careful readings of earlier versions of the thesis, and to Veronica Strong-Boag, Kathryn McPherson and Karlene Faith, all wonderful undergraduate teachers who urged me to continue on to do graduate work. For giving me the material and psychic space to think of myself as a scholar, I wish to thank Cath and John Moody. Jane Dyson and Jacqueline Holler have been intensely supportive colleagues, as have my sister Racliael McKendry and brother Brian Mckendry-our shared university experi&ces endeared us to one another. Despite the distances between us, my sister Michelle McKendry-Robbers kept careful watch over me, while my parents Lorraine and Jim McKendry lent financial support and endless encouragement to see me through this endeavour. Throughout the process, Bill Scherk took the time to ask after my progress and to reassure me when my resolve or my powers of expression seemed to disappear. Finally, this thesis would not have been possible without the support of the graduate students, administrative staff and faculty of the Women's Studies Department at Simon Fraser University. Working with these women in a supportive atmosphere of rigorous feminist research has enriched me professionally and personally, and I want here to wish them well in all future pursuits. Table of Contents . Approval .......................................................................................................................................11 ... Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ 111 Dedication ....................................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... v .. List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. vii I . Introduction .................................................................................................................................1 Problems and Objectives ...................................................................................................1 Literature Review and Epistemological Considerations ....................................................2 . The Primary Sources ..........................................................................................................6 Methodologies .................................................................................................................10 I1 . Taxonomies of Royal Imagery, 184 1- 186 1 ............................................................................ 12 "Firm Friend of the Queen" Royal Imagery in the ILN ...................................................................................15 "JOHN BULL pays every farden ..." Punch on the Monarchy .......................................................................................30 111. Ideology. Transgression and the Queen .................................................................................42 Royal Imagery in Context ...............................................................................................45 Punch as Court Jester-The Limits of Transgression ..................................................... 56 IV . Monarchy and Maternity .......................................................................................................65 The "Family of Families" at Home .................................................................................69 Monarchy, Maternity and Middle-class Hegemony ........................................................ 75 . Appendix - Images of Queen Victoria .......................................................................................89 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................126 List of Figures fig. 1 ."Royal bal masquk ". ......................................................................................................... 90 fig . 2 ."The Queen's Drawing Room" ......................................................................................... 91 fig . 3 ."The Queen's Drawing Room-Ceremony of Presentation" .......................................... 92 fig . 4 ."The Royal Procession at the Entrance to Peel Park, Salford" ........................................ 93 fig . 5 ."Her Majesty's Visit to France" .......................................................................................94 fig . 6 ."The Great Seal" ...............................................................................................................95 fig . 7 ."Exhibition at St. James Palace of Winterhalter's Pictures... " ..........................................96 fig . 8 - "The Royal Family at Osborne" ......................................................................................97 fig . 9 - "Royal Visit to Astley's" ..................................................................................................98 fig . 10 - "Her Majesty and the Infant Prince Arthur" ...................................................................99 fig . 11 - "Christmas