Wicked Women and The Yellow Book
Eos Evite
Ryerson University
2240
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The Yellow Book and the Late-Victorian Period
In April 1894, Henry Harland and Aubrey Beardsley released a magazine called The Yellow Book, published under The Bodley Head (Kooistra). Unlike other magazines, however, The Yellow Book was more similar to a hardbound novel. Each volume had more than 200 pages of different kinds of literature and art. The collection of works from relevant writers and artists and its distinct yellow cover made the publication popular and recognizable. The magazine also included works that reflect the culture it is published in, like George Egerton's 'New Woman' fiction (Pykett). In the late 1890s, raw ideas of feminism began to emerge, and these ideas diverted from the established role of women. The goal of this exhibit is to analyze and situate the women represented in Henry R. Rheam’s “Merlin and Vivien” from Volume 7 and Vernon Lee’s “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady” from Volume 10. Both works offer a version of a femme fatale, and this exhibit intends to analyze their character as examples of the convention. Henry Rheam’s Vivien matches the convention of the femme fatale, while Vernon Lee’s Snake Lady challenges it. |
The Yellow Book: An Illustrated Quarterly, Volume 10 July 1896
London, UK: The Bodley Head
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The Femme Fatale in Victorian 1890s
During the Victorian period, the middle-class woman is idealized in her function as a wife and mother (Pykett 12). As a woman, she is expected to be moral and pure to achieve her goal of becoming the domesticated partner of the male labourer. Pykett contends this concept of womanhood as a fabrication of society dominated by men (158). A woman's role was the distinct opposite of a man's, and her ideal character was established as pure and submissive.
In keeping with the ideals, female sexuality is repressed, and femininity is associated with sexual purity and virginity. Expressions of sexual passion from a woman is deemed improper, and likened to a witch, seductress, or temptress—the feminine form of the villain. In literature, women who actively seduce a man are corrupt beings, and usually depicted as something from the supernatural realm. They are equated to fairies, witches, and sirens (Stott 200). The idea of a woman expressing her sexuality is mystical that she is represented as not fully human.
The femme fatale is not to be mistaken as the ‘New Woman’, another concept of the female popular in the late-Victorian period. ‘New Woman’ advocates argue for the equality of the genders. They also want power in society, however sexuality is not a tool in their battle for power. The two women have some similarities, but they are different concepts. This exhibit focuses on the femme fatale, as it is depicted in The Yellow Book.
The Yellow Book actively participated on current cultural movements, such as the emergence of feminism and 'New Woman' fiction, through the art and literature it has published in its thirteen volumes. The femme fatale manifested as a convention in fiction, and it illustrates the societal fears of the independent woman's attack on a patriarchal society. The two characters that this exhibit will examine are Vivien, from “Merlin and Vivien” by Henry R. Rheam, and Oriana, from “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady” by Vernon Lee. These two women are the villains of their respective stories, and both were associated with witches and fairies. This exhibit aims to analyze both women as femme fatales and determine if they truly are examples of the dangerous female character.
During the Victorian period, the middle-class woman is idealized in her function as a wife and mother (Pykett 12). As a woman, she is expected to be moral and pure to achieve her goal of becoming the domesticated partner of the male labourer. Pykett contends this concept of womanhood as a fabrication of society dominated by men (158). A woman's role was the distinct opposite of a man's, and her ideal character was established as pure and submissive.
In keeping with the ideals, female sexuality is repressed, and femininity is associated with sexual purity and virginity. Expressions of sexual passion from a woman is deemed improper, and likened to a witch, seductress, or temptress—the feminine form of the villain. In literature, women who actively seduce a man are corrupt beings, and usually depicted as something from the supernatural realm. They are equated to fairies, witches, and sirens (Stott 200). The idea of a woman expressing her sexuality is mystical that she is represented as not fully human.
The femme fatale is not to be mistaken as the ‘New Woman’, another concept of the female popular in the late-Victorian period. ‘New Woman’ advocates argue for the equality of the genders. They also want power in society, however sexuality is not a tool in their battle for power. The two women have some similarities, but they are different concepts. This exhibit focuses on the femme fatale, as it is depicted in The Yellow Book.
The Yellow Book actively participated on current cultural movements, such as the emergence of feminism and 'New Woman' fiction, through the art and literature it has published in its thirteen volumes. The femme fatale manifested as a convention in fiction, and it illustrates the societal fears of the independent woman's attack on a patriarchal society. The two characters that this exhibit will examine are Vivien, from “Merlin and Vivien” by Henry R. Rheam, and Oriana, from “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady” by Vernon Lee. These two women are the villains of their respective stories, and both were associated with witches and fairies. This exhibit aims to analyze both women as femme fatales and determine if they truly are examples of the dangerous female character.
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