'PAPER GYPSIES': REPRESENTATIONS OF THE GYPSY FIGURE IN BRITISH LITERATURE, C.1780-1870 Alexandra L. Drayton A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2011 Full metadata for this thesis 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 thesis: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3110 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ ‘Paper Gypsies’: Representations of the Gypsy Figure in British Literature, c.1780-1870 Alexandra L. Drayton A thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of English at the University of St Andrews May 2011 i ‘Paper Gypsies’: Representations of the Gypsy Figure in British Literature, c.1780- 1870 Representations of the Gypsies and their lifestyle were widespread in British culture in the late- eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This thesis analyzes the varying literary and artistic responses to the Gypsy figure in the period circa 1780-1870. Addressing not only well-known works by William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, Walter Scott, John Clare, Robert Browning, Matthew Arnold and George Eliot, but also lesser-known or neglected works by Gilbert White, Hannah More, George Crabbe and Samuel Rogers, unpublished archival material from Princess Victoria’s journals, and a range of articles from the periodical press, this thesis examines how the figure of the Gypsy was used to explore differing conceptions of the landscape, identity and freedom, as well as the authoritative discourses of law, religion and science. The influence of William Cowper’s Gypsy episode in Book One of The Task is shown to be profound, and its effect on ensuing literary representations of the Gypsy is an example of my interpretation of Wim Willem’s term ‘paper Gypsies’: the idea that literary Gypsies are often textual (re)constructions of other writers’ work, creating a shared literary, cultural and artistic heritage. A focus on the picturesque and the Gypsies’ role within that genre is a strong theme throughout this thesis. The ambiguity of picturesque Gypsy representations challenges the authority of the leisured viewer, provoking complex responses that either seek to contain the Gypsy’s disruptive potential or demonstrate the figure’s refusal to be controlled. An examination of texts alongside contemporary paintings and sketches of Gypsies by Princess Victoria, George Morland, Thomas Gainsborough, J. M. W. Turner, John Constable and John Everett Millais, elucidates the significance of the Gypsies as ambiguous ciphers in both literature and art. ii Candidate’s declarations: I, Alexandra Louise Drayton 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 October 2007 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D. in October 2008; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2007 and 2011. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Ph.D. 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 ………… Permission for electronic publication: 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: embargo of all of electronic publication of thesis for a period of 5 years on the following grounds: publication would preclude future publication. Print publication of this thesis accessible for consultation by written permission from the Head of the School of English, University of St Andrews. Date …… Signature of candidate………… Signature of supervisor………… iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people without whom this thesis would never have existed. Firstly, my thanks go to the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland for awarding me a three-year scholarship that enabled me to undertake my Ph.D. I would also like to thank the organizers of the Coleridge Conference and the Wordsworth Summer Conference for awarding me bursaries that enabled me to attend; thank you also to the trustees of the Keats-Shelley Society for their financial assistance. Dr Jane Stabler has been the most excellent of Ph.D. supervisors. Her wisdom, great kindness, and her unfaltering encouragement have sustained me throughout the course of this project and I cannot thank her enough for everything that she has done for me. My thanks also go to Professor Nicholas Roe, who encouraged me to do my Master’s and my Ph.D, and who kindly read through the draft copy of this thesis; his comments have been invaluable. I am extremely grateful to Dr Tom Jones for reading through the draft of the Introduction and answering my theory-related questions. The secretaries in the School of English, University of St Andrews have helped me enormously, especially the Postgraduate Secretary, Sandra McDevitt, whose patience has known no bounds. Thank you to Donna James, Amanda O’Connell and Morag Stalker from the Registry, University of St Andrews, who have never failed to encourage me. Professor Frederick Burwick’s interest in my topic has lead to many fruitful discussions and I would like to thank him for all of his help. Thank you also to Graham Davidson and Dr Richard Gravil. I undertook three major research trips during the course of my Ph.D. and my thanks go to: Dr Maureen Watry and the staff of the Special Collections, Sydney Jones Library, University of Liverpool; Pamela Clark and the staff of the Royal Archives, Windsor; the staff of the British Library; Jeff Cowton and everyone at Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum, Grasmere; and the staff of the Parliamentary Archives, London. Without the help of the following people I would never have been able to reproduce the 11 illustrations included in this thesis: Emma Darbyshire from the Image Library at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge; Tom Heaven from the Picture Library at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; Philip Hunt from the National Galleries of Scotland; Amelia Morgan from the Tate Gallery; and Louise Oliver from the Royal Collection Picture Library. My family has played an extremely important role throughout the course of my Ph.D. My grandparents and my parents have been a constant source of support and I would like to thank them for their great faith in me. My brothers, Will, James and Ben, and my sister-in- law, Ellen, deserve a special mention not only for answering all of my computer-related questions, for helping me format this thesis, for all the countless other things they have helped me with, but also for ensuring that (for the most part) I maintained a sense of proportion, as well as a sense of humour. The support of my friends has been immense. I am so grateful to Mike Braid and Simon Clark of BCS for letting me use a desk in their office. Thank you also to Sarah Alexander, Millie Attwood, Rosalind Bachelor, the Fleming family, Mr and Mrs Fraser, the Galloway family, Aimée George, Mark Holland, Ros Horton, Louise and Dakota Hughes, Sue Hutchison, the Inns family, Louise James, Anna Kachkova, the staff at Kingsbarns Golf Links, Marcia and John Kriedler, Carly Lee, Kristin Lindfield-Ott, Karen Lock, Annalisa Ludwinski, the Palmer-Brown family, A. Rose Pimentel, Andrew Richardson, Jennie and Aimée Rigg, Nicola Searle, Kayhan Shaghaghi, Celia Sinclair and Tsung-Han Tsai. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Nicola Healey for all of the help she has given me with my work over the last three and a half years, and for her unfailing belief in me. I have been humbled by the generosity and hospitality of Donna, Simon and Libby Clark, who have looked after me (and two horses) so well. iv Finally, my thanks go to David Palmer-Brown, for everything. v For my grandparents and To George vi CONTENTS Abstract i Declaration ii Acknowledgements iii Contents vi List of Abbreviations vii List of Illustrations viii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I 22 CHAPTER II 54 CHAPTER III 111 CHAPTER IV 156 APPENDIX 205 BIBLIOGRAPHY 217 vii List of Abbreviations OED – Oxford English Dictionary PMLA – Publications of the Modern Language Association of America SEL – Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 Note on the Text There are a variety of spellings of the word ‘Gypsy’. I have chosen to follow Deborah Epstein Nord, David Mayall and Wim Willems by using a capital ‘G’.