Elizabeth Gaskell and Romanticism : the romantic inheritance and her shorter works

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between Elizabeth Gaskelland Romanticism, as shown in her shorter works. This investigation will beconducted in three principal ways: a consideration of Romanticism as a culturalphenomenon; a discussion of the cultural environment in which Gaskell was nurtured;and a critical appraisal of a selection of her shorter works. The first chapter is aconsideration and discussion of Romanticism as a cultural shift which manifesteditself through the closing decades of the eighteenth century and the early decades ofthe nineteenth century. Aspects of this cultural shift considered include literature,music and the visual arts. The second chapter focuses on biographical considerationswith particular reference to Elizabeth Gaskell's family circumstances and the kind ofeducation to which she had access. The remaining chapters offer a detailed discussionof a representative selection of her shorter works. These texts have been chosen toreveal her early collaboration with her husband William Gaskell; her knowledge ofRomantic poets; and ways in which she developed as a writer. This developmentshows an engagement with an increasingly wide range of Romantic poets and awillingness on her part to engage with the darker side of Romanticism, especiallythrough the use of Gothic techniques. The focus is on Gaskell's shorter worksbecause these texts have received far less critical attention than her full-length novelsand because of her contribution to the rise of the modem short story, as a genredistinct from the novel