<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The paper aims to make a connection between the female models of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the portrayal of Shakespearean heroines, given that the 19th-century school of painting was using the Bard not only as a source of legitimation and authority, but also as a source of displacement, tackling apparently universal and literary subjects that were in fact disturbing for the Victorian sensibilities, such as love and eroticism, neurosis and madness, or suicide. As more recent scholarship has revealed, the women behind the Brotherhood, while posing as passive and contemplative, objects on display for the public gaze, had more agency and mobility than the average Victorian women.</p></abstract>

The paper aims to make a connection between the female models of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the portrayal of Shakespearean heroines, given that the 19th-century school of painting was using the Bard not only as a source of legitimation and authority, but also as a source of displacement, tackling apparently universal and literary subjects that were in fact disturbing for the Victorian sensibilities, such as love and eroticism, neurosis and madness, or suicide. As more recent scholarship has revealed, the women behind the Brotherhood, while posing as passive and contemplative, objects on display for the public gaze, had more agency and mobility than the average Victorian women.

Sisters of Inspiration. From Shakespearean Heroine to Pre-Raphaelite Muse

Gender Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Sisters of Inspiration. From Shakespearean Heroine to Pre-Raphaelite Muse"}

The paper aims to make a connection between the female models of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the portrayal of Shakespearean heroines, given that the...

Sisters of Inspiration. From Shakespearean Heroine to Pre-Raphaelite Muse

Published Online: Dec 31, 2020

Page range: 1 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/genst-2021-0001

Keywords
Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, female models, Victorian sensibilities, Shakespearean heroines, sisterhood

© 2020 Dana Percec, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Sisters of Inspiration. From Shakespearean Heroine to Pre-Raphaelite Muse

Published Online: Dec 31, 2020

Page range: 1 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/genst-2021-0001

KeywordsPre-Raphaelite brotherhood, female models, Victorian sensibilities, Shakespearean heroines, sisterhood

© 2020 Dana Percec, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, female models, Victorian sensibilities, Shakespearean heroines, sisterhood