The dissertation Anarchic Alchemists: Dissident Androgyny in Anglo-American Gothic Fiction from Godwin to Melville investigates the close generic links between British and American Gothic fictions... Show moreThe dissertation Anarchic Alchemists: Dissident Androgyny in Anglo-American Gothic Fiction from Godwin to Melville investigates the close generic links between British and American Gothic fictions from the late eighteenth-century up to the middle of the nineteenth century, including studies on William Godwin, Mary Shelley, Edgar Bulwer Lytton, Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. Starting with the work of Brown and Godwin, a transatlantic analysis is conducted focusing on the cultural schemata that British and American authors of gothic fictions shared during the period in creating their work. The focus in this analysis lies on the cultural schema of alchemy. The ubiquitous presence of this figure in British and American gothic fiction is striking.. Significantly, in an age dominated by a radical political and social reform impulse, the fantastic figure of the alchemist carried with it a propensity to express themes concerning radical social reform, especially regarding issues of gender inequality. The presence of this figure in much of the literature investigated suggests an inherent link between alchemy, gothic fiction and a dissident androgynous gender impulse. Show less
