The Double in the Fiction of R.L. Stevenson, Wilkie Collins, and Daphne Du MaurierRobert Louis Stevenson, Wilkie Collins and Daphne du Maurier are authors of particular importance to the literature of the double, having produced, among other works, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Woman in White and Rebecca. Each also rejected the prevailing social order of his or her time, a factor that plays an important role in determining how the double is represented and treated. The literary theory of romance narrative structure follows the hero's journey through a dark 'descent' to a happier 'ascent', but this journey is shown to apply to a largely masculine identity. On the other hand, the rise of the female persona and her relation to the double is a progression that is clearly charted through the works of Stevenson, Collins and du Maurier. It shows an extraordinary alteration in the structure of traditional romance narrative, and leads to an exploration of new ways in which the imprisoned female character may be able to free herself and become whole. |
Contents
List of Abbreviations | 7 |
Influential Literary Backgrounds | 27 |
Robert Louis Stevenson | 67 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
appearance associated becomes Blackwater brothers central identity clear clearly consciousness consequently context Cousin Rachel creative Daphne du Maurier dark Deacon Brodie death descent doppelgänger double Dr Jekyll Edinburgh edited expression fact fantasy father female characters female identity fiction focus Fosco freedom Frenchman's Creek Frye gender given parenthetically Gothic Gothic fiction Hartright highlighted Hyde idea imagination important imprisonment inner instance landscape Laura letter literary literature London male Manderley manner Marian masculine Master of Ballantrae Maxim Menabilly metaphor Moonstone motif narrative ascent narrative progression narrative structure narrative underworld narrator narrator's nature novel Oxford University Press parallel patriarchal perspective physical presented primary narrative protagonist R.L. Stevenson Rachel Rebecca relation relationship relevant religious representation Robert Louis Stevenson role romance narrative secondary narrative level seen sense sexuality significant social Subsequent page references subversive suggests symbol tradition Victorian Weir of Hermiston Wilkie Collins Woman in White women