Publication details
"Vile Treachery in my Castle!" Subversion of Patriarchal Castle in Early Gothic Plays The Kentish Barons and The Ward of the Castle
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| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | This paper discusses two early gothic dramas which were performed during Walpole’ s lifetime – The Kentish Barons (1791), the only play of Francis North, and the single play of Miss Burke entitled The Ward of the Castle (1793). Many critics read the Gothic writing as fundamentally subversive since it questions the political and social status quo. Kate F. Ellis sees the Gothic as the “subversion of domestic ideology” - a reaction to gender roles and separate-sphere ideology that emerged at the end of the 18th century. Gothic castle becomes a dangerous place- protagonists are imprisoned within its walls, longing for freedom; or they are exiled from it, unable to get inside. Moreover, it is a place where the master of the castle (a tyrant) exercises his unlimited power which is often directed against an unfortunate heroine. However, the Gothic play as a genre simultaneously employs and satirizes Gothic conventions, including the notion of a tyrant as the master of his castle. Through the frequent use of disguise and trapdoor, well-known devices in the Gothic Drama, both plays contain earthy humour, not so common in the Gothic novel, which makes them highly enjoyable. |