"She is not dead": Oppression and Rebellion in Elizabeth Gaskell's Short Stories

Abstract

So many studies were carried out on Elizabeth Gaskell and her works. Most of them were criticism concerning only her novels which explore many different aspects and issues of Gaskell’s writings, as for instance the condition of working men in her ‘social novel’ Mary Barton. Despite the fact that her novels made her famous and were largely criticised, the great part of Gaskell’s works is represented by her short stories but they received little critical attention. The following paper is, therefore, about solely a selection of Gaskell’s short stories in which the writer was concerned about the status of women during the Victorian period. In particular, in this dissertation I will concentrate on four short stories concerning female characters who try to react against prejudices, cruelty and, according to Victorian society, men superiority.