THEORIES OF DETERMINISM IN THE FICTION OF MARY ELIZABETH BRADDON AND WILKIE COLLINS, 1852-74 Helena Ifill Ph.D. Thesis School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics The University of Sheffield July 2009 1 Abstract This thesis concerns Mary Elizabeth Braddon's and Wilkie Collins's fictional representation and employment of theories of biological and environmental determinism. It demonstrates that both authors saw determinism as a theme for literary exploration, and also used it as a means of addressing associated issues debated throughout the Victorian period such as class, gender roles and moral responsibility. The introductory first chapter provides an overview of sensation fiction and concurrent theories of determinism. Part 1 begins with a consideration of Wilkie Collins's use of early- to mid-Victorian psycho-physiological theories, in particular his depiction of monomania. Chapter 2 argues that Collins uses monomania to simultaneously explain and enhance the melodramatic atmosphere of Basil. Chapter 3 shows how his portrayal of monomania in No Name facilitates an engagement with Victorian debates about willpower and personal responsibility. Chapter 4 reveals how in 'Mad Monkton' and Armadnle, Collins's speculations about heredity anticipate, without endorsing, theories of degeneration. The final chapter on Collins discusses how in Man and Wife his artistic change in direction towards "novels with a purpose" is accompanied by a greater emphasis on environmental determinism. Part 2 begins with an analysis of Braddon's Wlder-studied TIre Ltldy Lisle which uses ideas of nature and nurture to explore and manipulate class boundaries. Chapter 7 examines John Marchmont's Legacy's interrogation of notions of the "ideal woman", and its assertion that some women are constitutionally incapable of fulfilling such a role. The final chapter concerns Braddon's continued exploration of the connections between determinism and womanliness in the little-known Lost for Love, in which she depicts women as capable of great intellectual achievement if given the correct education. However, this depiction is filtered through a conservative ideology of gender which asserted that women should be primarily trained as companions to men. 2 Table of Contents Abstract p.l Acknowledgements p.3 Chapter 1 Introduction: Sensation Fiction and Victorian Deterministic Thinking p.4 PART 1: WILKIE COLLINS Chapter 2 II cannot leave you if I would': Basil, Melodrama and Monomania p.35 Chapter 3 ILike a possession of the devil'; No Name, Willpower and Monomania p.67 Chapter 4 IMad Monkton' and Armadale: Generating Degeneration? p.94 Chapter 5 'But the creatures of circumstances': Environmental Determinism in Man and Wife p.125 PART 2: MARY ELIZABETH BRADDON Chapter 6 IIf fine clothes and a great fortune could make a gentleman, he'd be one': Nature and Nurture in The Lady Lisle p.149 Chapter 7 'Nature makes these mistakes now and then': Ideal Womanliness in John Marchmont's Legacy p.181 Chapter 8 IWhat do we want in the Woman When We Have Educated Her?': Education as a Determining Tool in Lost for Love p.214 Conclusion p.258 Bibliography p.262 3 Acknowledgements This thesis was partially funded by a Graduate Incentive Award from the University of Sheffield, and by a grant from the British Federation of Women Graduates. I am grateful to both institutions for this financial support, without which I would have been unable to undertake this thesis. It would also have been impossible to complete this thesis without the help of my supervisor Dr Angela Wright, who has not only offered invaluable academic advice, but has been constantly understanding about the ups and downs of a PhD student's life, and has helped me to make the most of the opportunities offered to me during my time at Sheffield. Thanks are also due to my secondary, and at one point primary supervisor, Dr Marcus Waithe, whose meticulous and insightful responses to my drafts gave me lots of ideas about the broader implications of my work. I would not have begun this thesis at all if Professor Sally Shuttleworth had not stepped in to tutor me for a directed reading module when one of my MA modules was cancelled at the last minute. It was during this time that the ideas for this thesis first began to form, and my thanks go to her for giving me that opportunity. Thanks are also due to the many people in Sheffield who have given me help, friendship and advice over the last few years, including Kate Harris, Danielle Atherton, and Thomas Dymond. In particular, I would like to thank Tabitha Velvick - our many coffee breaks, lunches and library trips are part of the reason that I continue to find sensation fiction fascinating and enjoyable. My partner Phil Smith has been constantly supportive and has kept me sane and happy. He has also written a PhD at the same time, and I will always be a bit jealous that he submitted a week earlier than me. Finally, lowe my biggest thanks to my family, especially my parents who have given me endless love and encouragement, and had confidence in me every step of the way. This thesis is dedicated to my Mum, Patricia Ifill, and to the memory of my Dad, James Fitzgerald Ifill. 4 Chapter 1 Introduction: Sensation Fiction and Victorian Deterministic Thinking What is SELF? [... ] the representation of an integral individual human being - the organisation of a certain fabric of flesh and blood, biassed [sic], perhaps, originally by the attributes and peculiarities of the fabric itself-by hereditary predispositions, by nervous idiosyncrasies, by cerebral developments, by slow or quick action of the pulse, by all in which mind takes a shape from the mould of the body; - but still a Self which, in every sane constitution, can be changed or modified from the original bias, by circumstance, by culture, by reflection, by will, by conscience, through means of the unseen inhabitant of the fabric.1 (Edward Bulwer Lytton, 'On Self-Control', 1863) The popular and prolific novelist Edward Bulwer Lytton's Caxtoniana: A Series of Essays on Life, Literature, and Manners was serialised in twenty monthly parts in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine between February 1862 and October 1863.2 In it, Bulwer Lytton offers reflection, advice and opinions on (as the accommodating subtitle suggests) a wide and sometimes disparate number of topics, from the everyday to the philosophical, often both within the same piece. 'On Self-Control' is one such essay which uses examples of historical figures to illustrate what Bulwer Lytton considered the true nature of self­ discipline. Bulwer Lytton acknowledges, however, that before he can discuss the control of the self, he must first ask what 'Self' is. This question - 'what is Self?' - interested, preoccupied and troubled many Victorian thinkers: both the contemplation of the question and its numerous possible answers had an impact on social developments and changes which took place throughout the Victorian period. As in Bulwer Lytton's essay, the question could arise from the most practical and everyday issues - here the matter of personal conduct. The relevance and context of the question itself 1 Edward Bulwer Lytton, 'On Self-Control' (1863), in Caxtoniana (London: Routledge and Sons, 1875), pp.206-14 (pp.207-08). 2 The subtitle appeared in the initial serialization. 'On Self-Control' first appeared in Blackwood's, 93 (April. 1863),471-76. 5 changed as social, scientific and religious transformations meant that conceptions and theories of self were contested, altered and created throughout the century. How the self was perceived could radically influence how it was seen to be integrated within its immediate social environment, within society, within the human race, and within vaster schemes, both spiritual and secular. By asking 'what is Self?', the Victorians were not simply asking about individual ontology, but about the social and environmental networks in which they were enmeshed. This is partly because the questions which arose from and led to a querying of 'Self' often concerned the extent to which humans were able to control their actions and desires, to exert free will and thereby be responsible for their own behaviour: were people at the mercy of their biological composition, their inherited characteristics, their upbringing, their inherent intellect (or lack thereof)?; or were they free, and therefore accountable beings who could make choices and act upon them without constraint? Of equal importance was the question of the degree to which individuals could be improved or spoiled by their own actions, by those of the people around them, and by their environment: what individuals necessarily were, and what they could be, was vital not only to each person, but to the family unit, wider communities, and the nation. Thus, the issue of determinism - the extent to which the self was either fixed or malleable, and the forces to which it might be subject - was inextricable from ontological questions of selfhood.3 Bulwer Lytton's own response to 'what is Self?' exemplifies how interrogating the nature of the self inevitably entails some consideration of its creation and development. Whilst not suggesting that the self is a purely physical entity, Bulwer Lytton defines it in 'flesh and blood' terms of hereditary transmission, 3 Throughout this thesis 'determinism' refers to the range of pre- and post-natal factors which influence (i.e. determine) personal development. This includes environmental factors such as education and upbringing which could be considered anti-<ieterministic because they in some senses belie the idea that human behaviour is biologically predetermined. Also, 'environmental determinism' refers to characters' social surroundings (such as those mentioned above). This is distinct from the geographical term 'environmental determinism' which refers to the 'doctrine that human growth, development and activities are controlled by the physical environment' and that 'factors of culture, race and intelligence are supposed to derive from the benign or malignant influences of climate, and other aspects of human habitat.' Encyclopedia of Environmental Science, ed.