Whole document restricted, see Access Instructions file below for details of how to access the print copy. / Nineteenth-century representations of prostitutes were governed, modern historians argue, by a powerful and resilient mythology. The myth of the prostitute’s downward progress – a narrative involving disease, destitution, and early death – was allegedly crystallised in the Victorian consciousness from the 1840s, and consequently reproduced (visually and in print) into the mid and late Victorian period. Despite innovative studies into the social, economic, and cultural context of Victorian prostitution, scholars continue to read the sources for the omnipotence of the myth of downward trajectory. Such readings continue to constrain interpretations of Victorian ideologies regarding prostitution. Studying contemporary representations provides a way of reading prostitution. The analysis of texts reveals the construction of social meanings, attitudes, agendas, anxieties, and fears. This thesis reads a selection of post-1850 sources to subject Victorian ideology on prostitution to much needed scrutiny. The five chosen case studies represent the variety of discourses and cultural interest in prostitution in the Victorian period: Dr. William Acton’s Prostitution Considered (1870); The Report of the Royal Commission into the Contagious Diseases Acts (1871); Josephine Butler’s early repeal campaign literature; Wilkie Collins’ novel, The New Magdalen (1873); and the pornographic ‘memoir’, My Secret Life (c.1890). The choice of texts provides an argument on two fronts: canonical texts must be revisited and reread for their multiple layers, internal contradictions, and interpretative potential; and alternative sources should be utilised to illustrate the variety within the repertoire of Victorian cultural representations. In focusing on representations this thesis challenges scholarly orthodoxies. Where scholars have continued to read homogeneity in Victorian attitudes to prostitution, this thesis finds complexity, flexibility, and dissonance. The myth of the prostitute’s downward progress remained a popular narrative in much Victorian discourse on prostitution. But it was not the only narrative and did not go unchallenged. The prostitute was a powerful cultural symbol in the Victorian period and remains a figure of sustained interest for modern academics. It is therefore essential to recognise the complex ways in which she was represented in Victorian culture. This thesis argues for the heterogeneity of Victorian attitudes to prostitution.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/275644 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Attwood, Nina Jean |
| Publisher | ResearchSpace@Auckland |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Whole document restricted. Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated., http://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm, Copyright: The author |
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