Dark Figures of Female Liberation. The Mermaid, the Nun, and the Spectre in Anne Bannerman’s Poetry

Abstract

English Romanticism, albeit extensively studied by scholars, has not been entirely explored with a gendered perspective: this is why Anne Bannerman has been excluded from the canon of literature. This paper explores, through a feminist perspective, three poems from her two collections of poetry. As a result, a proto-feminist intention can be seen. In these three poems a desire of change for the condition of women can be seen, and it is expressed by using different Gothic figures, which can be included in the ‘femme fatale’ archetype. This feminist Gothicism is enhanced with the use of symbols and uncanny appearances with the productive goal of denouncing the pervasive patriarchy of the society she lived in. Although further research about Anne Bannerman’s writings should be done to get a deeper knowledge of the early feminist manifestations, in this paper her writing proves to be rich enough to be introduced in later studies of 19th century poetry, Gothicism, and proto-feminism.