Art and the Transitional Object in Vernon Lee''s Supernatural Tales

Patricia Pulham combines psychoanalytic theory with socio-historical criticism in her study of Vernon Lee's fantastic tales. Using D.W. Winnicott's 'transitional object' theory, Pulham argues that the past in Lee's tales signifies not only an historical but a psychic past. Thus the 'ghosts' that haunt Lee's supernatural fiction held complex meanings for her that were fundamental to her intellectual development and allowed her to explore alternative identities that permit the expression of transgressive sexualities.

List of contents

Contents: Introduction; Castrato cries and wicked voices; A white and ice-cold world; Painted dolls and virgin mothers; Madonna portraits and Medusan mirrors; Coda; Select bibliography; Index.

About the author

Patricia Pulham is Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Portsmouth, UK.

Product details

• Authors: Patricia Pulham
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 10.06.2019
• EAN: 9781138383739
• ISBN: 978-1-138-38373-9
• No. of pages: 188
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies