A Study On The Construction Of Middle Class Culture In The Mysteries Of Udolpho

Throughout the development of modern British society,Gothic literature played an important role in the formation of middle-class culture in the 18^thand 19^thcenturies,while The Mysteries of Udolpho,the most representative work of Ann Radcliffe who is considered as the mother of British Gothic fiction,was particularly important.Since its publication,this Gothic novel instantly became the subject of social debates due to its controversial ideological topic.However,critics mostly focus on the author’s feminist consciousness and her portrayal of middle-class characters,yet overlook the theme of middle-class culture construction.Based on this status quo,this thesis,citing Jameson’s political unconsciousness theory as the theoretical foundation,interprets the middle-class cultural elements embodying in the rural writing of The Mysteries of Udolpho,and analyzes Radcliffe’s strategies and intention of constructing middle-class culture.Specifically,the thesis through the ideological narrative strategy firstly explores how Radcliffe imaginatively disintegrates the aesthetic exclusivity of traditional landed aristocracy and constructs a middle-class aesthetic culture that emphasizes sensibility,hence to materialize the cultural superiority of middle class and naturalize its power.Secondly,by adopting the strategy of historicization,this thesis reverts to the real historical context to explain how the middle-class characters,when returning back to countryside,approach the aristocratic“elegant tradition”by imitating the aristocracy’s historical tradition of pursuing science,and construct a middle-class scientific culture with utilitarian tendencies to distinguish themselves from the lower classes;so as to explore Radcliffe’s thought on how to establish the middle class’s social and cultural identity and gain its cultural superiority.Finally,by the“anti-containment”strategy,this thesis explores how Radcliffe disintegrates the traditional landed aristocracy’s moral paradigm which emphasizes noble birth and lineage,and rewrites the concept of gentlemanliness that emphasizes personal ethics and downplays birth,so as to remove the ideological barriers blocking the middle class’s entry into the ruling class.The middle-class culture constructed on the basis of these strategies by Radcliffe was fundamentally a utilitarian culture,which later became the core value of British middle class who accumulated their capital from the overseas colonial expansion and domestic capitalist industries,and helped the middle class grab the discourse power accorded with its economic strength.To sum up,in the light of Jameson’s political unconsciousness theory,this thesis analyses Radcliffe’s strategies and intention of constructing middle-class utilitarian culture by interpreting the middle class cultural elements embodying in the rural writing in The Mysteries of Udolpho.Consequently,this thesis expects to provide readers an effective perspective for the interpretation of this novel,Radcliffe’s creative thinking,and British class culture at the late 18^thcentury.Besides,by exploring how the middle class in the novel shapes positively the spiritual and cultural temperament of the whole society,this thesis expects to provide a deeper understanding for the value orientations and behaviour patterns of the Victorian middle class.