The Double Discourse on Victorian Womanhood and Sexuality from a Contemporary Perspective

Abstract

My argument will proceed in three stages: I will explore the ways Waters uses ideas about gender and sexuality and undermines the repressive conceptions the Victorians are known for today. I am going to demonstrate the traditional image of the Victorian woman, against the women of Waters. I will, then, examine the notion of the gaze and observation in relation to women as objects, whereas in the third section, I will conclude with a brief analysis of the female same-sex desire and the diverse reality Waters represents in relation to the Victorian underworld.