Hothouse Victorians: Art and Agency in Freshwater
The Victorian artistic community that grew up on the Isle of Wight around Tennyson and Julia Margaret Cameron has been reimagined in Virginia Woolf's play, Freshwater (1923, 1935), and more recently in Lynn Truss's novel, Tennyson's Gift (1996). Whereas Freshwater should be read as mo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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De Gruyter
2017-10-01
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| Series: | Open Cultural Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/culture.2017.1.issue-1/culture-2017-0017/culture-2017-0017.xml?format=INT |
| _version_ | 1818454468018044928 |
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| author | Swenson Kristine |
| author_facet | Swenson Kristine |
| author_sort | Swenson Kristine |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Victorian artistic community that grew up on the Isle of Wight around Tennyson and Julia Margaret Cameron has been reimagined in Virginia Woolf's play, Freshwater (1923, 1935), and more recently in Lynn Truss's novel, Tennyson's Gift (1996). Whereas Freshwater should be read as modernist or post- Victorian, Tennyson's Gift is neo-Victorian and postmodern in its form and attitude. Integral to both are the discontent of women and the disruption of gender norms. Therefore, this essay looks particularly at the question of female agency in a Victorian world envisioned in 1923-35 and one of 1996. In Freshwater, one sees a serious exploration of generational change and the desire for artistic freedom, especially through the character of Ellen Terry. Freshwater is a dress rehearsal for To the Lighthouse. Truss reimagines Freshwater by adding to Woolf's cast the unstable Charles Dodgson, whose Alice in Wonderland becomes the familiarizing scaffolding for readers in a Victorian world that seems as strange as Wonderland did to Alice. Here, female agency is elusive - too-knowing little girls hold sway and adult women use their power, rather pathetically, to win and hold the undeserving men they love. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:55:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33f3111a438b4c5aae4f8d52b1ea4f79 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2451-3474 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:55:21Z |
| publishDate | 2017-10-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Cultural Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-33f3111a438b4c5aae4f8d52b1ea4f792022-12-21T22:46:07ZengDe GruyterOpen Cultural Studies2451-34742017-10-011118319310.1515/culture-2017-0017culture-2017-0017Hothouse Victorians: Art and Agency in FreshwaterSwenson Kristine0Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla, United States of AmericaThe Victorian artistic community that grew up on the Isle of Wight around Tennyson and Julia Margaret Cameron has been reimagined in Virginia Woolf's play, Freshwater (1923, 1935), and more recently in Lynn Truss's novel, Tennyson's Gift (1996). Whereas Freshwater should be read as modernist or post- Victorian, Tennyson's Gift is neo-Victorian and postmodern in its form and attitude. Integral to both are the discontent of women and the disruption of gender norms. Therefore, this essay looks particularly at the question of female agency in a Victorian world envisioned in 1923-35 and one of 1996. In Freshwater, one sees a serious exploration of generational change and the desire for artistic freedom, especially through the character of Ellen Terry. Freshwater is a dress rehearsal for To the Lighthouse. Truss reimagines Freshwater by adding to Woolf's cast the unstable Charles Dodgson, whose Alice in Wonderland becomes the familiarizing scaffolding for readers in a Victorian world that seems as strange as Wonderland did to Alice. Here, female agency is elusive - too-knowing little girls hold sway and adult women use their power, rather pathetically, to win and hold the undeserving men they love.http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/culture.2017.1.issue-1/culture-2017-0017/culture-2017-0017.xml?format=INTneo-victorianvirginia woolftennyson |
| spellingShingle | Swenson Kristine Hothouse Victorians: Art and Agency in Freshwater Open Cultural Studies neo-victorian virginia woolf tennyson |
| title | Hothouse Victorians: Art and Agency in Freshwater |
| title_full | Hothouse Victorians: Art and Agency in Freshwater |
| title_fullStr | Hothouse Victorians: Art and Agency in Freshwater |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hothouse Victorians: Art and Agency in Freshwater |
| title_short | Hothouse Victorians: Art and Agency in Freshwater |
| title_sort | hothouse victorians art and agency in freshwater |
| topic | neo-victorian virginia woolf tennyson |
| url | http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/culture.2017.1.issue-1/culture-2017-0017/culture-2017-0017.xml?format=INT |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT swensonkristine hothousevictoriansartandagencyinfreshwater |