In bed with Dickens : questioning the neo-Victorian codes of representation in Ralph Fiennes's film The invisible woman (2013)
| Autor: | Martín Alegre, Sara |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
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| Zdroj: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Popis: | This is a working paper, written for the "I International Seminar on (Neo-)Victorian Studies in Spain", 10-12 May, 2017, Universidad de Málaga, organized by VINS (Neo-Victorian Network in Spain), https://vins-network.org/, of which I am a member. The Invisible Woman (2013) directed by Ralph Fiennes from a screenplay by Abi Morgan, adapts Claire Tomalin's controversial biography of Ellen Ternan (1990). Tomalin presented the secret love story between Charles Dickens and young actress Nelly as fact, despite lacking material evidence. Fiennes's biopic tackles, undeniably, its subject matter with elegance. As neo-Victorian spectators, however, we must consider what we learn from this film, particularly from the sex scene involving Charles and Nelly. This scene may be even considered a remarkable contribution to the film representation of Victorian sexuality. However, as I argue, it also illustrates how our obsession with celebrity authors and sex distorts our view of the Victorian Age, and of Dickens. Since he chose to protect his privacy, we should focus on his books, not on his bedfellows. After all, the voyeurism that Fiennes's film promotes does not really help us to understand literary genius. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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