Gothic Fiction & The Female Writer

What do female figures in Gothic Literature reveal about gender oppression? Female ghosts, vampire ladies, and femmes fatales have appeared in the classic novels such as Carmilla (1872), Dracula (1897), and more. Rather than projection of patriarchal ideas, these figures articulate a much more complex reflection of identity - challenging the norms about female bodies, anatomies and drives. 

Join Dr Monica Germanà in exploring Gothic Literature through the lens of female “monsters”. Guided by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), we will dive into the complex gender politics of these characters. This literary journey will reveal how these figures of resistance embody self-determination through subversive challenges to sexism and gender norms. 

Doors open at 6:45pm, talk starts at 7.30pm - come down early to grab a good seat!

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Speaker Bio:

Dr Monica Germanà is a Reader in Gothic and Contemporary Studies at the University of Westminster. She is the co-president of the International Gothic Association, and her primary expertise is on Scottish Female Gothic, a field she pioneered with her first monograph, Scottish Women’s Gothic and Fantastic Writing (2010), where she explored the intersections of gender politics and national identity in contemporary women’s writing from and about Scotland. Her subsequent key publications in the field include Scottish Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion (2018), co-edited with Carol Davison and short-listed for the Allan Lloyd Prize and two special issues of Gothic Studies on Contemporary Scottish Gothic (November 2013) and Haunted ‘Scotlands’ (March 2022).

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