From the start, the differences between the Lacanian interpretation of the Oedipal Triangle and the one presented by Doyle become evident. Women are placed first in the position of the males in the triangle, not always possessing sight but always possessing power. It is the male characters of Doyle’s story that find themselves more often inContinue reading “Lacan, Doyle, and Holmes: Men and the Feminine (Part 3 of 3)”
Tag Archives: Feminist theory
Lacan, Doyle, and Holmes: Men and the Feminine (Part 2 of 3)
Lacan presents a theory that, while engaging, relies on a relatively narrow-minded definition of feminine characteristics versus masculine characteristics. For Lacan, the feminine is a shadowy, deceptive form, both indefinable and irresistible. However, it is still a position of vulnerability, one that presents more risks than rewards. If a man falls into a ‘feminine’ role,Continue reading “Lacan, Doyle, and Holmes: Men and the Feminine (Part 2 of 3)”
Lacan, Doyle, and Holmes: Men and the Feminine (Part 1 of 3)
Playwright William Congreve penned the infamous phrase “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned/Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned” in 1697 (Moncur). Throughout literary history, the woman scorned has been a powerful antagonist, instigating trouble and woe for a story’s protagonist, often for the purpose of revenge. In its most simplistic sense,Continue reading “Lacan, Doyle, and Holmes: Men and the Feminine (Part 1 of 3)”
“A wife’s like a guinea in gold”: The Commodification of Women in “The Beggar’s Opera”
In The Beggar’s Opera, we find the inversions of many societal norms for comedic effect. As is true of all satires, these purposeful reversals of positions and definitions, while at one moment the cause for hilarity, also serve to expose the dark truths behind institutions and ideas society accepts as natural. One of the institutionsContinue reading ““A wife’s like a guinea in gold”: The Commodification of Women in “The Beggar’s Opera””
“The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 3 of 3)
In both novels, motherhood is a form of property – whether it is a method of ownership or the way which one can be owned. For Linda in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the birth of her first child, and the growing concern she has for that child, is the point atContinue reading ““The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 3 of 3)”