The Ghosts, Illusion and Intertextuality in Charlotte Brontё's Late Novels

Abstract

Abstract: Charlotte Brontё's late novels Shirley and Villette show rich and similar Gothic elements but they are always regarded as two isolated works. In fact, the two novels constitute intertextuality in terms of illusion and ghosts and other mysterious elements. In those two novels, the discussion of ghosts investigates the relations between real me and so-called me, by which, Charlotte Brontё criticizes the high pressure of the educational environment in the Victorian age while the discussion of illusion investigates the relations between the real-vision and pseudo-vision. Real-vision comes from modern medicine and constitutes a panoramic view of the prison, while illusion, based on pathology, breaks up the monitor of real-vision. Through those discussions, Charlotte Brontё depicts the authority consciousness in the Victorian society and appeals to mystic discourse as a resolution.

Key words: Charlotte Brontё, Shirley, Villette, Ghosts, illusion, intertextuality

Zhang Qiuzi. The Ghosts, Illusion and Intertextuality in Charlotte Brontё's Late Novels[J]. Foreign Literature Studies, 2017, 39(6): 141-150.

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