Property and Power in English Gothic Literature

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Eighteenth-century England witnessed major social and economic changes, including the commodification of property, person and text through legal containments-enclosure, coverture, primogeniture, copyright. The English Gothic text responded with tropes that worked to dispel the assurances of possession-the contested castle, the beleaguered yet enduring woman, the haunting ghost, the disjointed narrative-warning that seemingly mundane codes of ownership have menacing implications, such as the civil death of women through marriage. This book explores the masterplot of the English Gothic text as a response to the Enlightenment’s rational certainty regarding possession of self, property and narrative.