Abstract
Analyzing the dialogue in Anthony Trollope’s nineteenth-century novels Castle Richmond and Lady Anna reveals portrayals of mother-daughter conflicts that span throughout generations and carry profound societal consequences. In both novels, the mothers are depicted as ambivalent figures who simultaneously play the roles of both victim and oppressor. Relentlessly striving to redeem their past, the despotic mothers intimidate their daughters into accepting socially beneficial marriage arrangements. Using Bakhtin’s notion of dialogism, I present how in both novels, the younger generation (the daughters) adopt a fresh system of social values, which gradually results in a change in Victorian society of the second half of the nineteenth century. The aim of this dialogical study is to analyze the portrait of motherhood and daughterhood in both texts. I also apply Jane Nardin’s concept of “sympathetic ambivalence” to analyze Trollope’s ambiguous attitude towards his women protagonists.
Recommended Citation
Tryniecka, Aleksandra
(2025)
"Between Mothers and Daughters: Female Isolation, Despotism and Fragile Bonds in Anthony Trollope’s "Castle Richmond" and "Lady Anna","
Journal of International Women's Studies: Vol. 27:
Iss.
4, Article 9.
Available at:
https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol27/iss4/9