This thesis aims to explore how late Victorian Gothic monsters may serve as a productive tool for exploring the power of Othernerness in a rigidly structured society. The two works analysed are Vernon Lee’s “Oke of Okehurst” and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, both of which feature monsters that challenge the Victorian status quo, which was a result of the homogenisation of British society during the Industrial Revolution. Monsters gained a new shape during this time, becoming human in their outer appearance and further adopting a negative connotation by going against newly established rigid class and gender roles. Supported by Michel Foucault’s notion of deviance as a quintessential part of monstrosity and historical background, this thesis explores what makes a late Victorian monster.
Despite the negative connotation of monsters, they may be looked at through a sympathetical lens. A queer reading, supported by Jack Halberstam’s notion of low theory, provides a different insight, allowing the monster to be productive by imagining a different queer reality. Through monsters, Lee and Wilde can explore non-normative behaviours; their monsters are therefore allowed to revel in things seen as inappropriate by Victorian society, such as an obsessive indulgence in art and general frivolity. Additionally, they are also able to look past the established notions of history and look for a shared queer past. Their failure to comply with heteronormative norms becomes a victory, even though they ultimately meet their demise at the end of their stories.
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