Transformation in Mary Shelley’s short stories

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to examine the intersection of transformation and gender in Mary Shelley’s short stories, “A Tale of the Passions” (1822), “Ferdinando Eboli” (1828), “The Mortal Immortal” (1833) and “Transformation” (1831). Shelley scholarship almost always centres on a reading of Frankenstein, but very little attention has been given to Shelley’s short stories. This thesis examines the tropes of disguise and sacrifice to consider the ways in which Shelley’s short stories present a Gothic vision of gendered experience. This thesis argues that Mary Shelley utilises the transformation trope within her short stories to highlight the abjections and disparate natures of her male heroes and female heroines. Whilst everyone in Shelley’s corpus can be a victim, the way in which they are victimised is inherently gendered. Both Shelley’s heroines and heroes endure trials that ultimately lead them to some form of transformation. However, the outcome of their transformations are most often driven by class, circumstance, and ability. Arguing through the lens of the Gothic, this thesis presents the many ways that Shelley’s characters transform to escape an unforeseen burden or to attain freedom, in whatever form that may come notably, marriage or death. In addition to proposing a way to read the inherent gender constructs present within Shelley’s short stories, this thesis also contributes to Shelley’s field of scholarship and nineteenth century Gothic literature scholarship.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Helen Koukoutsis (Supervisor)