FALLEN WOMEN IN THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY NOVEL

FALLEN WOMEN IN THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY NOVEL

Fallen Wotnen in the Nineteenth-Century Novel Tom Winnifrith

First published in Great Britain 1994 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-39130-1 DOI 10.1057/9780230377721 ISBN 978-0-230-37772-1 (ebook) First published in the United Stares of America 1994 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifih Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-10173-2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Winnifrith, Tom Fallen women in the nineteenth-century novel/ Tom Winni frith p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-10173-2 I. English fiction-19th century-history nnd criticism. 2. Women nnd literature-great Britain-History-19th century. 3. Prostitution-Great Britain-History-19th century. 4. Moral conditions in literature. 5. Prostitutes in literature. 6. Sex role in literature. I. Title PR468.W6W56 1994 823'.8093520692-dc20 93-15979 CIP @Tom Winnifrilh 1994 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1994 All rights reserved. No reproductimt, copy or trnnsmission of this publication may be made without wrillen permission. No parngraph of this publication mny be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with w itten permission or In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the tenns of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Rond, London WIP 9HE Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. 12 I I 10 9 8 7 6 5 04 03 02 OJ 00 99

To Felicity who fell fortunately

Contents Preface ix 1 Introduction 1 2 Austen 13 3 Bronte 31 4 Eliot 49 5 Thackeray 71 6 Dickens 93 7 Hardy 113 8 Conclusion 133 Notes 149 Bibliography 169 Index 175 vii

Preface I am grateful for help in preparing this book to Mrs Cheryl Cave, Mrs Debora Downing, Dr Gill Frith, Mrs Anne Rafique, and above all to Mr Kevin Ashby, whose tireless work with the word processor was combined with some acute critical observations. References in the notes to texts by major authors are in all cases to standard editions. Thus for Austen I have used the Oxford edition edited by R. W. Chapman (Oxford, 1933). The individual novels were originally published as follows: Sense and Sensibility, 1811; Pride and Prejudice, 1813; Mansfield Park, 1814; Emma, 1815; Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, 1818. For Bronte I have used the Haworth edition, published by Smith, Elder (London, 1899-1900). The individual novels were originally published as follows: lane Eyre, 1847; Shirley, 1849; Villette, 1853; TheProfessor, 1857. For Eliot I have used the Cabinet edition, published by Blackwood (London, 1878-80). The novels were originally published as follows: Scenes of Clerical Life, 1858; Adam Bede, 1859; The Mill on the Floss, 1860; Silas Marner, 1861; Romola, 1862-3; Felix Holt, 1866; Middlemarch, 1871-2; Daniel Deronda, 1876. For Thackeray I have used the Biographical edition, published by Smith, Elder (London, 1898). The novels were originally published as follows: Catherine, 1839-40; A Shabby Genteel Story, 1840; Barry Lyndon, 1844; Vanity Fair, 1847-8; Pendennis, 1848-50; Henry Esmond, 1852; The Newcomes, 1853-5; The Virginians, 1857-9; Lovel the Widower, 1860; Philip, 1861-2; Denis Duval, 1864. For Dickens I have used the Illustrated Library edition, published by Chapman and Hall (London, 1874). The novels were originally published as follows: Sketches by Boz, 1836; Pickwick, 1836-7; Oliver Twist, 1837-9; Nicholas Nickleby, 1838-9; The Old Curiosity Shop, 1840-1; Barnaby Rudge, 1841; Martin Chuzzlewit, 1843-4; Dombey and Son, 1846-7; David Copperfield, 1849-50; Bleak House, 1852-3; Hard Times, 1854; Little Dorrit, 1855-7; A Tale of Two Cities, 1859; Great Expectations, 1860-1; Our Mutual Friend, 1864-5; The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 1870. For Hardy I have used the New Wessex edition, published by Macmillan (London, 1975). The novels were originally pubix

x Preface lished as follows: Desperate Remedies, 1871; Under the Greenwood Tree, 1872; A Pair of Blue Eyes, 1872-3; Far from themadding Crowd, 1874; The Hand of Ethelberta, 1875-6; The Return of thenative, 1878; The Trumpet-Major, 1880; A Laodicean, 188()-O1; Two on a Tower, 1882; The Mayor ofcasterbridge, 1886; The Woodlanders, 1886-7; Tess of the d'urbervilles, 1891; The Well-Beloved, 1892; Jude the Obscure, 1894-5.