The Gothic novel and the women: matters of sexual politics

Abstract

Despite claims that the Gothic and other terror-related genres are produced and consumed primarily by men, and that they promote patriarchal values, there has been an important and long-standing tradition of Gothic fiction produced and consumed by women. From the 18th and 19th centuries, right up to more recent times, many women writers, particularly radical women writers, have been drawn to this narrative mode. It is from some of the earliest examples of Gothic novels, written between 1764 – 1820, in Great Britain, that this paper seeks to discuss matters of sexual politics in a group of novels primarily produced by women.