Performing Freedom : Transcending the Nineteenth Century on the Stage
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Tipping the Velvet (1998) by Sarah Waters and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem (1994) by Peter Ackroyd give voice to Victorian women who refuse to embody limiting roles prescribed to them by society. Instead, the main characters go on a journey to self-discovery that centres around their transformation aided by cross-dressing and theatre. Theatre represents a relatively safe space for anyone who diverges from the arbitrary standard. Therefore, it is also an ideal setting for a neo-Victorian novel exploring the margins of society and the refusal to follow predetermined roles. This presentation illustrates how performance permits the discussed characters to occupy both male and female spheres. It looks into the various roles the male characters embody and their significance. Furthermore, it examines how both novels challenge the limiting depiction of gender as a strict and total binary. Music halls epitomise a space where transgressions are allowed and nurtured, while the streets of London present a further challenge to the preconceived notions that started to be questioned by the end of the nineteenth century. Nancy Astley (Tipping the Velvet) and Elizabeth Cree (Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem) achieve freedom through performance and they are also able to arrive at a more authentic and well-rounded image of who they are. |
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