Divided Nation, Divided Self: Representations of Anglo-Irishness in Charles R. Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

Abstract

In this thesis, two nineteenth-century Anglo-Irish Gothic novels, Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) by Charles R. Maturin and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde, are taken under consideration to study the relationships between history, ideology, and the Subject. The novels are read as expressions of the ambivalence of the Anglo-Irish identity as defined by the dominant ideologies of their respective contexts. The nineteenth century was filled with turmoil in Ireland, with major events like the Act of Union, the Catholic Emancipation Act, the Great Famine and the rise of Irish Nationalism. These historical events occurred at a time of ideological conflict and the colonial dominance of Britain over Ireland. Taking Althusser’s theory of ideology and interpellation as the primary theoretical perspective, the study shows the effect of the conflicting ideologies on the Anglo-Irish identity. Through an analysis of the rhetoric, writing style and characters of the two authors, the research shows that the negotiation of identity is a symptom of a dominant colonial ideology that is continuously repressed through acts of denial, escapism and irony.