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Henry Jekyll, Sherlock Holmes, and Dorian Gray: Narrative Politics and the Representation of Character in Late-Victorian Gothic Romance

O'Dell, Benjamin Daniel
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1215048065

Abstract Details

2008, Master of Arts, Miami University, English.
This thesis explores the function of iconic literary characters in late-Victorian gothic romance as expressed through the contemporary debates they embody as narrative types. Chapter 1 examines the paradoxical position of the Victorian gentleman's public identity through a reading of Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Chapter 2 analyzes the relationship between Sherlock Holmes's position on the social periphery and the tale of imperial corruption he exposes in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four. Chapter 3 discusses the dandy's ambiguous moral state as a product of economic and cultural changes among wealthier residents in London's West End that were connected to debates about their group's role in relation to charity, consumerism, and culture. These findings suggest characters that are often read as personifying complex literary aspirations may also be approached productively as vessels that are capable of addressing difficult issues on innocuous terms.
Susan Morgan, PhD (Committee Chair)
Mary Jean Corbett, PhD (Committee Member)
Madelyn Detloff, PhD (Committee Member)
95 p.
English literature
Robert Louis Stevenson; Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Arthur Conan Doyle; The Sign of Four; Oscar Wilde; The Picture of Dorian Gray; character; fin de si&232; cle; late Victorian gothic romance; city; London; performance; class

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • O'Dell, B. D. (2008). Henry Jekyll, Sherlock Holmes, and Dorian Gray: Narrative Politics and the Representation of Character in Late-Victorian Gothic Romance [Master's thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1215048065

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • O'Dell, Benjamin. Henry Jekyll, Sherlock Holmes, and Dorian Gray: Narrative Politics and the Representation of Character in Late-Victorian Gothic Romance. 2008. Miami University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1215048065.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • O'Dell, Benjamin. "Henry Jekyll, Sherlock Holmes, and Dorian Gray: Narrative Politics and the Representation of Character in Late-Victorian Gothic Romance." Master's thesis, Miami University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1215048065

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.