Houses, Secrets, and the Closet: Locating Masculinities from the Gothic Novel to Henry James

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transcript Verlag, Apr 30, 2016 - Literary Criticism - 234 pages
»Houses, Secrets, and the Closet« investigates the literary production of masculinities and their relation to secrets and sexualities in 18th and 19th century fiction. It focusses on close readings of Gothic fiction, Sensation Novels, and tales by Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, William Godwin, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Wilkie Collins, and Henry James. The study approaches these texts through the lens of domestic space, gender, knowledge, and power. This approach serves to investigate the cultural roots of the ›closet‹ - the male homosexual secret - which reveals a more general notion of male secrecy in modern society. The study thus contributes to a better understanding of the cultural history of masculinities and sexualities.
 

Contents

Preface
7
Introduction
9
Gothic Novels
45
Sensation Novels
101
Henry James
165
Coda
213
Works Cited
223
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About the author (2016)

Gero Bauer (Dr. phil.) teaches English Literature and Cultural Studies, and is the managing director of the Center for Gender and Diversity Research at the Universität Tübingen.

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