Female Authors of the 19th Century ‘Locked Down’ under Male Pseudonyms Zara Blakey (MO L6) For centuries, artists have been using pseudonyms to conceal their true identities. Their motives for doing so can vary tremendously: today, many writers use pen names not wanting to reveal to their colleagues or friends that they write a particular genre, or to protect their work from being scrutinised. When Agatha Christie decided to pursue romance novels, she adopted the name Mary Westmacott, in order to distance herself from the expectations of the fan base for her murder mysteries. Similarly, Stephen King wanted to publish more than one book a year, the amount limited by his publishing agency, and so created the pseudonym Richard Bachman to prevent the King brand from becoming saturated. However, there are undoubtedly many disadvantages to using pseudonyms, as artists can become isolated from their own fame and fortune. In order to explore this theme of isolation when considering the notion of pseudonyms, I have chosen to focus on two female authors of the romantic era who used male pseudonyms to publish their work. The name George Eliot is one that most will have encountered before; Eliot was one of the greatest authors of the Victorian novel, the aim of which was to explore as richly as possible the raw material of ordinary human life. However, what is often not acknowledged, is that this was simply a pen name. Born Mary Ann Evans in 1819 in Warwickshire England, she published her first work of fiction in 1858, Scenes of Clerical Life, under her male pseudonym. Comparable to Eliot in many ways, French author Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin was born in Paris 15 years prior to Eliot, but likewise rose to fame under the pseudonym George Sand. She represented the epitome of French romantic idealism in the setting of 19th century pastoral life and became notorious for her many love affairs with famous men such as dramatist Alfred de Musset and composer Frédéric Chopin. However, as I will discuss later, she found herself isolated within these very relationships. Sand also presented unconventional iconoclasm to the whole of Europe - a notion which is extremely relevant to the topic of ‘lockdown’, as it is the social belief in breaking icons, or in her case, breaking free of the social norms of her time.
October 2020 by E.F.J. Twohig
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