Gothic incest: Gender, sexuality and transgression

by Jenny DiPlacidi

The first full-length study of incest in the Gothic genre, this book argues that Gothic writers resisted the power structures of their society through incestuous desires. It provides interdisciplinary readings of incest within father-daughter, sibling, mother-son, cousin and uncle-niece relationships in texts by authors including Emily Brontë, Eliza Parsons, Ann Radcliffe and Eleanor Sleath. The analyses, underpinned by historical, literary and cultural contexts, reveal that the incest thematic allowed writers to explore a range of related sexual, social and legal concerns. Through representations of incest, Gothic writers modelled alternative agencies, sexualities and family structures that remain relevant today.

Genres: Gothic, Nonfiction

312 pages, Hardcover

Published February 8, 2018

Reviews

[Yaryna · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is what i think i sound like when i yap about my oddly specific interests to people (spoiler: no, i don't sound nearly as sophisticated and intellectual)

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

a wonderful account of the different uses of incest in Gothic literature - perhaps what is most interesting is the use of less researched Gothic works. although mostly focused on a feminist lens and a use of Gothic as a reaction to patriarchal conditions and dynamics, i found parts of it particularly interesting and pleasantly new