44
RADICAL REFORM AND THE SHOCK OF THE PAST
IN MARY ROBINSON’S VANCENZA
Eleano F anzén
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/2571452X.2025.69.4
Abs ac : Ma y Robinson’s i s no el, Vancenza (1792), cha ed a new pa h o
poli ically libe al women w i e s. Robinson used he p e-exis ing epu a ion as an
ac ess, mis ess and es ablished poe o ca e ou a space in which she could w i e and
publish ic ion, a oiding some o he pi alls o eigh een h-cen u y women o
pa icipa ing oo eage ly (o a all) in public li e. Vancenza challenges inhe i ed
ela ionships o pa ia chal and poli ical au ho i y o a gue o he impo ance o adical
social change, weighing i s des uc i e na u e oge he wi h i s posi i e mo al alue. Is
he disclosu e o u h a c ucial s ep on he pa h o jus ice, o a misguided in e en ion
ha can lead only o su e ing? Robinson uses Go hic opes as coded poli ical symbols,
p oducing a poli ical no el disguised as a Go hic one, in o de o ad oca e socie al
e o m oo ed in hones eckoning wi h he pas . E en i pain ul – so pain ul ha he
shock o i kills – Vancenza p esen s such a eckoning, and he change i b ings, as he
only pa h o mo al egene a ion.
Keywo ds: Go hic, Roman icism, Ma y Robinson, women’s w i ing, a chi ec u e,
eminism, e o m
Ma y Robinson (1758-1800) was a s age ac ess who in 1779 became he i s
mis ess o he u u e Geo ge IV, hen P ince o Wales. Be o e mee ing he P ince,
she published poe y o suppo he amily when he husband’s deb s led o hei
join imp isonmen , and she u ned o w i ing again o supplemen a y income
a e he ela ionship wi h he P ince ended. F om 1792 o 1800, she published
i een wo ks o ic ion, poe y and essays, including se en no els. He i s no el,
Vancenza; o , The Dange s o C eduli y: A Mo al Tale (1792), p esen s an os ensibly
con en ional mo al: ha women mus o se hei own ulne abili y wi h cons an
igilance, o isk no only des oying hei own li es bu bligh ing hose o u u e
gene a ions. The poin is made wice, in he sub i le (“The Dange s o C eduli y”)
Radical Re o m and he Shock o he Pas
45
and in he gene ic ag “A Mo al Tale.” While legible as an o hodox able o sexual
e o and punishmen , he no el’s plo sugges s a concealed mo al o g ea e
sub e si e powe : namely, ha a be e solu ion o he p oblem o emale ulne -
abili y is ecogni ion o he alse posi ions in which indi iduals a e placed by
socie y’s demands, ollowed by hones eckoning wi h he c uel y o hose demands.
I is wo h no ing ha he i le is no El i a, a e i s he oine, bu Vancenza, a e
he cas le and amily name ha bo h p o ec and menace he . “The dange s o
c eduli y” migh well e e o he haza ds o emale nai e y, bu c eduli y in hese
sys ems o powe , inhe i ance and pa ia chy can be equally dange ous.
Robinson’s no o ie y as an ac ess and oyal mis ess helped he e ade he
s ic u es usually placed on emale li e a y p oduc ion. In Vancenza, she uses he
opes o Go hic ic ion popula ized in he same decade by Ann Radcli e, no only
o c i ique he social s uc u es ha disempowe women and p e en hem om
pa icipa ing in public li e, bu also o sugges ha igno ing he eali y o he
opp essi e sys ems we inhe i leads only o pe sonal and socie al co up ion.
Th ough he cha ac e s’ eno a ions o he in e io déco o he i ula cas le, and
he disclosu e o sec e s ha ollows, Robinson allego izes bo h he need o exca a e
he cul u al inhe i ance in which p esen eali y is oo ed, and he pain ha can
ollow om such an ac , sugges ing ha his is he only pa h owa ds a mo al and
jus socie y.
As he mis ess o he P ince o Wales, Robinson ound he mould o modes ,
e i ing eminini y an uneasy i . Ma lon B. Ross no es: “ he p oblem [was] how
women [could] en e he loop o powe wi hou being con amina ed by he
consequences o powe .”1 The only accep able a enue o emale engagemen wi h
poli ics in his pe iod was li e a y composi ion. E en hen, modes and gen es
associa ed wi h poli ical discou se, such as sa i e, polemic and ca ica u e, we e
la gely o -limi s. Robinson’s ex emely public li e could ha e h ea ened he
abili y o make meaning ul poli ical commen a y unde he condi ions o he ime:
he mo al au ho i y supposed o be held by women es ed on hei seclusion om
he co up ing in luence o poli ical discou se and p ac ice, bu as a o me ac ess
and oyal mis ess, Robinson was ob iously no secluded om he wide wo ld.2
This is, howe e , p ecisely wha suppo s he ic ion’s poli ical hemes: she
1 Ma lon B. Ross, “Con igu a ions o Feminine Re o m: The Woman W i e and he
T adi ion o Dissen ,” in Re-Visioning Roman icism: B i ish Women W i e s, 1776-1837, ed.
Ca ol Shine Wilson and Joel Hae ne (Philadelphia, PA: Uni e si y o Pennsyl ania
P ess, 1994), 91-110.
2 Nancy A ms ong analyses “innocen ” emale p o agonis -pe sonae as co e o
poli ical c i iques in Desi e and Domes ic Fic ion: A Poli ical His o y o he No el (New Yo k:
Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 1987).
Eleano F anzén
46
al eady exis ed ou side he bounda ies o espec able womanhood. Al hough she
o en seeks o legi ima e he sel as a w i e by espousing posi ions ha seem
con en ional, close eading e eals he de ails o he wo k as dis up i e o
es ablished hie a chies o powe , economics and gende .
He ic ional s a egy is in o med by he eali y ha explici engagemen wi h
poli ics in p in was dange ous. Though he Sedi ious Mee ing Ac and he
T easonable and Sedi ious P ac ices Ac we e bo h passed in 1795, a e Vancenza’s
publica ion, he legal clima e o he decade was de ined by go e nmen al anxie y
abou , and a emp s o exe con ol o e , eedom o he p ess.3 Robinson’s
acquain ance wi h William Godwin and Ma y Wolls onec a – she main ained a
co espondence wi h Godwin un il he dea h – illumina es he app oach.4 The
Godwin ci cle we e in e es ed in no els as a way o eaching audiences who migh
lack access o explici ly poli ical wo ks, pa icula ly women: he supp essed
p e ace o Godwin’s Caleb Williams (1794) desc ibes "[a pe son] whom books o
philosophy and science a e ne e likely o each,” bu who ne e heless dese es
o know “ he modes o domes ic and un eco ded despo ism,” while Ma y
Wolls onec a decla es in Ma ia (1798) he in en ion o e eal he “w ongs o
women” o a public unlikely o ha e ead he essays on he opic.5 Vancenza is an
e en ea lie ins ance – wo yea s be o e Godwin, six be o e Wolls onec a – o an
au ho widening access o hei a gumen abou a mal ea ed class o ci izens by
choosing he o ms o domes ic and Go hic ic ion.
Vancenza’s plo and hemes signal i as domes ic. Nancy A ms ong w i es ha
domes ic ic ion o e ed “ an asies o poli ical powe ha we e he mo e
accep able because hey we e played ou in a domes ic amewo k whe e
legi ima e monogamy – and hus he subo dina ion o emale o male – would
ul ima ely be a i med.”6 Vancenza’s e en s occu wi hin he con ines o a amily
3 Danby Picke ing, ed., The S a u es a La ge: F om he Magna Cha a, o he End o he Ele en h
Pa liamen o G ea B i ain, Anno 1761 [con inued o 1806]. Vol. 40 (Camb idge: John Bu ges;
London: J. Johnson, J. & J. Robinson and D. Ogil y, 1795). 36 Geo.3 c.7, “Anno egni
icesimo sex o Geo gii III,” 561-64; 36 Geo.3 c.8, 564-73. Fo an o e iew o ep essi e
legisla ion in he 1790s see Da id Wo all, “F eedom o Speech,” in The Ox o d Handbook
o B i ish Roman icism, ed. Da id Du (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2018), 233-49.
4 “Ma y Wolls onec a o Ma y Robinson, n.d. [ci ca la e 1796],” Ca l H. P o zheime
Collec ion o Shelley and His Ci cle, The New Yo k Public Lib a y; “Ma y Robinson o
William Godwin, 30 May 1800,” Bodleian Lib a y MS. Abinge c. 5, ols. 136-37.
5 Ga y Kelly, “Women No elis s and he F ench Re olu ion Deba e: No elizing he
Re olu ion/Re olu ionizing he No el,” Eigh een h-Cen u y Fic ion 6 (July 1994): 369-88;
Nancy E. Johnson, The English Jacobin No el on Righ s, P ope y and he Law: C i iquing he
Con ac (Basings oke: Palg a e Macmillan, 2004), 14.
6 A ms ong, Desi e and Domes ic Fic ion, 29.
Radical Re o m and he Shock o he Pas
47
and appea o a i m bo h emale subo dina ion o men – in he mis o unes o i s
emale cha ac e s when hey a e le wi hou a male ela i e o ac as gua dian –
and he in iolabili y o ma iage, in he plo wis ha p e en s siblings om
ma ying illegally (i also unknowingly). I is also clea ly a Go hic no el, in which
a dynas ic agedy o amilies sec e ly linked by his o ic mal easance is a ally
played ou in he li es o a second gene a ion. Acknowledging he di icul ies
inhe en in de ining “Go hic,” in his con ex I use i b oadly o mean gene ic
opes es ablished by Ann Radcli e’s no els, among which is he s uc u al ope
o “[a] pas c ime disco e ed and se o igh s in he na a i e p esen .”7
Ma ilyn Bu le iden i ies Radcli ean Go hic as ulne able o cha ges o
indi idualism because o he mode’s close ocus on he he oine’s pe sonal
expe iences and pe cep ions. Such indi idualism, she a gues, could be seen as
h ea ening o he social o de , ene a ing a cha ac e ’s emo ions and ac ions in
isola ion om hei esponsibili y o he socie y in which hey li ed. Bu le
sugges s ha Radcli e’s esponse o his ulne abili y was o “ emain esolu ely
o hodox […] and conse a i e” in he poli ics, poin ing o he Sou he n Eu opean
eudal se ings and opp esso s.8 Vancenza supe icially i s his model, wi h i s
i een h-cen u y Spanish en i ons and omnipo en libe ine illain. In he cou se
o wo king ou he Go hic plo , howe e , Robinson measu es Geo gian B i ain
agains medie al Spain, elabo a ing a e o mis posi ion ha challenges he sel -
sa is ac ion o 1790s “ ee-bo n Englishman” and “Righ s o Man” discou ses by
highligh ing he ailu es o a socie y whose women – e en he mos a is oc a ic –
con inue o li e as helpless economic dependen s.9
Robinson’s poli ical alignmen shi ed o e he cou se o he 1790s, om non-
adical Whig a he decade’s beginning o suppo e o popula e o m by he
decade’s end. Ad iana C aciun’s au ho i a i e accoun o ha shi places i s
beginnings in Robinson’s F ancophile essays, such as A Monody o he Memo y o
he La e Queen o F ance (1793), and i s u he de elopmen in he eminis essay
Le e o he Women o England (1799) and he la e no els, such as Walsingham
(1797) and Hube de Se ac (1796), which explici ly deba e he na u e o ci izenship
and good go e nmen .10 Vancenza is a ely employed in a gumen s abou
7 Emma Cle y, Women’s Go hic: F om Cla a Ree e o Ma y Shelley (Ho ndon: No hco e
House, 2000), 60.
8 Ma ilyn Bu le , Jane Aus en and he Wa o Ideas (Ox o d: Cla endon P ess, 1975), 30-31.
9 Fo an o e iew o Robinson’s engagemen wi h he Righ s o Man and ela ed 1790s
poli ical deba es, see Ad iana C aciun, B i ish Women W i e s and he F ench Re olu ion
(Basings oke: Palg a e Macmillan, 2005), 62-64.
10 C aciun, B i ish Women W i e s, 61-62. See also Anne Close, “‘A W i e o No els:’ Ma y
Robinson and he Poli ics o P o essional Au ho ship” (PhD diss., Loyola Uni e si y
Eleano F anzén
48
Robinson’s poli ics, bu i dese es close examina ion as he si e o he ea lies
ic ional engagemen wi h he disjunc ion be ween socie y as i is and socie y as i
ough o be. In i , she w i es a poli ical no el camou laged as a Go hic one,
ollowing he Godwinian ideal o ic ion as a b idge o poli ics. He gene ic choice
may ha e dilu ed he powe o Vancenza’s poli ical message, bu i ex ended ha
message’s each.
I
Vancenza de ails he li e o an o phaned gi l, El i a, unde he gua dianship o he
Spanish nobleman Coun Vancenza. She li es wi h him, his niece Ca line, and
Ca line’s mo he Madame de Vallo ie, in hei ances al cas le. P ince Almanza,
he son o Vancenza’s old iend, is wounded while hun ing nea he cas le. El i a
nu ses him and alls in lo e. When Almanza eco e s and depa s, he heal h
declines. Coun Vancenza succumbs o he encou agemen o his wa ds and akes
he household o Mad id o an ex ended s ay a cou . A emp s a e made on he
honou o bo h gi ls. While escuing Ca line om one such abduc ion, Vancenza
is s abbed by a poisoned dagge , and dies o he wound o e nigh . The women
e u n o he cas le. Almanza p o esses his lo e o El i a, and hey become
engaged. P epa ing o he wedding, Ca line decides ha some an ique in e io
déco is ou moded and inapp op ia e o he celeb a ion, and supe ises i s
emo al. A hidden caske is ound, con aining a le e om El i a’s long-dead
mo he , Madeline, who is e ealed o ha e been Coun Vancenza’s sis e . This
p o es ha Almanza is El i a’s biological hal -b o he . De as a ed by his
disco e y, El i a swoons and dies he nex day. To comple e he supe icially
“mo al ale,” Madeline’s es imony is p ese ed as a monumen o he “mis aken
c eduli y” which led o he seduc ion by Almanza’s a he and o he daugh e ’s
un imely dea h.
The disco e ed amily sec e , pa icula ly one pe aining o inces , is a common
Go hic ope,11 bu Robinson in es s i wi h poli ical signi icance. El i a is
Chicago, 2003), which a gues ha Robinson ough o be iden i ied as a consis en
poli ical ic ion w i e .
11 Examples include he unwi ing ape o a sis e in Ma hew Lewis’s The Monk (1796);
Ho ace Walpole’s The Mys e ious Mo he (1768), ea u ing bo h mo he -son and b o he -
sis e coupling; and he (neu alized) h ea o sibling inces in Ann Radcli e’s The
Mys e ies o Udolpho (1794). See, in e alia, Julie Sha e , “Familial Lo e, Inces , and
Female Desi e in La e Eigh een h- and Ea ly Nine een h-Cen u y B i ish Women’s
No els,” C i icism 41, no. 1 (1999): 67-99, and Min- se Lin, “‘Wha is his sec e sin, his

Radical Re o m and he Shock o he Pas
49
ulne able unde a legal sys em ha only p o ec s he by means o amilial male
au ho i y. Almanza seems o answe he second- olume p oblem o he missing
pa ia ch, bu he sa e y he o e s is no mo e eliable han ha o he cas le o he
coun . The implica ion o Robinson’s allego y is ha no woman whose secu i y
es s upon male p o ec ion is ul ima ely sa e: while Geo gian B i ain migh o e
g ea e egali a ianism and en anchisemen o p ope ied men han medie al
Spain, emale B i ish ci izens did no sha e hose bene i s.
Be o e mos o i s d ama ic ac ion occu s, Vancenza add esses he mo ali y o
emale publicness, a ph ase he e deno ing social appea ances ou side he home,
pa icula ly a cou . Robinson’s own iden i ies as a “public” woman we e de ined
by c ea i e sel -exp ession: while he li e a y pe sona es ed on he apid
p oduc ion o poe y, d ama, ic ion and essays, he ea lie li e as a oyal mis ess
elied upon skil ul use o ashion and po ai u e o s eng hen he posi ion in high
socie y.12 El i a and Ca line also appea a cou – o en associa ed, dispa agingly,
wi h “wo ldliness” in he Ancien Régime in ellec ual cul u e which Robinson
admi ed.13 Vancenza manages he p oblem o publicness o women in wo ways:
i s by con en ionally disclaiming i , associa ing mo ali y wi h e i emen and
p i acy; hen, mo e sub ly, by sugges ing he seduc i e appeal o public li e. I also
unde mines he associa ion o seclusion wi h i ue, by des abilizing he li e a y
code in which u al as es signal a sympa he ic cha ac e .
Ini ially, Vancenza sugges s a commonly held posi ion: ha o desi e a li e
based on socializing and ci y li ing, especially poli icking a cou , is a sign o
degene acy, and con e sely ha i ue is de ined by p i acy. Be o e he no el
begins, Madame de Vallo ie, sis e o Coun Vancenza, has e u ned o he
b o he ’s home a e he husband’s dea h. This demons a es he mo al au ho i y,
and is in ima ely connec ed o he pe o mance o wi ely g ie : “The specious
enjoymen s o he wo ld ade,” she ells us, “be o e he loa hing eye o pensi e
un old ale…?:’ The Rep esen a ion o Inces in Ea ly B i ish Go hic Na a i es,”
Concen ic: Li e a y and Cul u al S udies 33, no. 1 (2007): 3-31.
12 Much has been w i en on Robinson’s pe o ma i i y and sel - ashioning. Among he
mos impo an ea men s a e Judi h Pascoe, Roman ic Thea icali y: Gende , Poe y and
Spec a o ship (I haca, NY: Co nell Uni e si y P ess, 1997); Lau a Engel, Fashioning
Celeb i y: Eigh een h-Cen u y B i ish Ac esses and S a egies o Image Making (Columbus,
OH: Ohio S a e Uni e si y P ess, 2011); and Clai e B ock, “‘Then Smile and Know
Thysel Sup emely G ea :’ Ma y Robinson and he Splendou o a Name,” Women’s
W i ing 9, no. 1 (2002): 107-214.
13 Colin Jones’s e iew o se en ela ed books, “Poli ical S yles and Si es o Powe in
Ancien Régime F ance,” The His o ical Jou nal 41, no. 4 (1998): 1173-82, p o ides an
excellen bibliog aphy o his associa ion.
Eleano F anzén
50
so ow.”14 In he i s qua e o he no el, he mo ali y o he cas le’s isola ion is
balanced by emphasis on he wo hlessness o “ he wo ld,” going so a in o
abs ac ion as o claim he supe io i y o na u al, since e exp ession o e
“os en a ion” o “s udied language” (1:40-42). This opposi ion be ween ci y
( illainous) and coun y ( i uous) is a pa e n common enough o appea in a
leas one non-Go hic Robinson no el, The Widow (1794): we know Lady Seymou
is a illainess om he i s appea ance because she is so disgus ed by he
coun yside.15 The Vancenza amily’s ex ended mid-no el s ay in Mad id,
he e o e, is in ended o make a eade cau ious e en be o e i begins. Ca line is
h illed by he isi , bu we al eady know ha a young woman’s eage ness o
public li e is augh wi h mo al dange .
Howe e , an ea ly scene a Vancenza Cas le dis up s his con en ional
opposi ion. The i onically-named seduce Del Ve o walks alone in he ga den and
expe iences a ap u ous app ecia ion o landscape: “All beau eous Na u e! […]
how ex ensi e, how luxu ious, a e hy enchan men s! […] Why hen should MAN
[…] seek in he u bulen mazes o busy li e, and he duplici y o cou s, o
g a i ica ions a al o his epose, and pleasu es ha mus ine i ably lead o sa ie y
and emo se?” (1:35-36) The es o his ac ions p o e him un us wo hy, ye his
as e allows him an a i ma i e esponse o he na u al wo ld. The in e play
be ween as e, na u e and mo ali y in la e eigh een h-cen u y ic ion is illus a ed
by Emma Cle y’s obse a ion ha ou exposu e o e il and i s mo ally co up ing
e ec s in hese no els ends o be mi iga ed by “ as e and imagina ion,” ende ing
s ong emo ion sa e h ough i s sublima ion in aes he ic expe ience. Howe e , as
Cle y also no es, his mo al li mus es can be alsi ied: cul u ed illains can also
espond o he beau ies o a and music. She sugges s ha “ esponse o na u e,”
he e o e, “is he ul ima e es … [o which] only a sensibili y unco up ed by ci y
li e and social con en ions is capable.”16 Del Ve o challenges Cle y’s a gumen : he
is a cul u ed illain, whose co up ion by ci y li e and social con en ion is
demons a ed no only h ough his a emp s o seduce El i a, bu h ough his
complacen awa eness ha “women o he mos ashionable no o ie y in he highes
ci cles” (1:105) a e sexually in e es ed in him. Ye he is s ill awed by, and a ac ed
o, u al beau y and p i a e li e. The ela ionship be ween Del Ve o’s as e and his
mo ali y o e s he eade he possibili y o uncoupling “ i ue” om “p i acy.”
14 Ma y Robinson, Vancenza: o , he Dange s o C eduli y. A Mo al Tale, 2 ols. (London: John
Bell, 1792), 1:14. He ea e ci ed pa en he ically in he ex .
15 Ma y Robinson, The Widow (London: Hookham and Ca pen e , 1794), 3: “I ha e jus had
a glimpse o he su ounding beau ies o na u e, and am al eady sickening a hei iew.”
16 Cle y, Women’s Go hic, 61.
Radical Re o m and he Shock o he Pas
51
Robinson goes on o sub e he idea ha emale public appea ance is inna ely
immo al. A Almanza’s ou namen in Mad id, El i a spec a es, wea ing whi e,
bu wi h a black eil “o he hinnes ex u e” (1:109). As a young unma ied
woman and p esump i e i gin, he whi e gown mee s social con en ion, bu he
black eil b eaks i : he colou was associa ed wi h widowhood, i sel a condi ion
o sexual knowledge no longe linked o, o unde he p o ec ion o , any one man.
El i a’s eil also mee s con en ions o emale physical modes y, bu Robinson’s
insis ence on he eil’s ex u e o e s a s a lingly e o ic image o ine ma e ial
clinging o he con ou s o he ace, heo e ically modes bu p ac ically e ealing.
Is Robinson sugges ing he e ha El i a is becoming co up ed by Mad id li e in
some way? O is he plausibly deniable immodes y legi imized by he s eng h o
he innocence? This momen o sa o ial and physical sel - e ela ion mi o s an
ea lie inciden back in Vancenza Cas le, in which she emo ed he eil o bind
Almanza’s wounded a m. A e using he eil as a bandage, El i a “ ecollec [s]
he imp op ie y she [has] been guil y o […] bu s [s] in o ea s, and e i e[s]” (1:24).
In he secluded en i onmen , she eadily unde s ands he “guil ;” in he public
eye, she is p aised o simplici y – and hus i ue – bu a e he ou namen , she
is subjec ed o social mocke y and manipula ion by Mad id cou ie s o which she
does no know how o espond. He con usion sugges s ha he innocence is a
g ea e han he wo ldliness, bu he luxu ious ex ile desc ip ions and he e o ic
cha ge o he “ hin” eil dis up he cla i y o he bina y be ween public and
p i a e, i gin and seduc ess. I hese dis inc ions a e unclea , Robinson implies,
how can we be su e abou he co ec dis ibu ion o p o ec ion and sympa hy?
I we canno be su e ha ou me ics o i ue o ice a e co ec ly calib a ed,
wha o ou unde s anding o equali y, o o jus ice? The con en ions o law,
inhe i ance, pa onage and ma iage ha will i s shel e and hen ic imize
El i a a e based on assump ions abou wha is igh , na u al and knowable ha
can be oubled by a single ga men .
II
Vancenza is se in i een h-cen u y Spain, wi h which B i ish Go hic ic ion o he
la e eigh een h cen u y was pa icula ly ascina ed. Spanish se ings p o ided an
oppo uni y o indulge an i-Ca holic sen imen , which was s ong in B i ain a e
he cons an h ea o F ench-backed Jacobi e ebellion and Spain’s 1779 a emp ed
in asion o England. Jus as impo an ly, po aying Sou he n Eu ope as equally
unde he sway o eudal y anny and noble p ide o bi h p o ided a con as o
eme ging B i ish alues o egali a ianism and ep esen a i e go e nmen . The
English his o ical imagina ion associa ed Spain wi h he Inquisi ion’s iolen
Eleano F anzén
52
eligious pe secu ion, easily co-op ed o secula pu poses; ea ly Go hic w i e s
ound Spain a p oduc i e en i onmen in which o s age d amas o P o es an -
coded innocence o e coming Ca holic-coded y anny.17
Robinson begins, howe e , by connec ing he medie al Spanish a chi ec u e
ha she desc ibes no wi h opp ession o c uel y bu wi h shel e . He lexical
choices emphasize Vancenza’s obsessions wi h emale sa e y and ulne abili y
om he i s page. Dale Townshend’s wo k on a chi ec u e in Ann Radcli e’s
no els o e s con ex o hose choices. In Radcli e’s i s no el, The Cas les o
A hlin and Dunbayne (1789), a “good” cas le is mo e physically accessible and open,
as well as con aining a mo e i uous amily; a “bad” one is oo high up o easy
access, ocky, and o bidding, and he home o illains.18 The a chi ec u e o he
cas le in A Sicilian Romance (1790) is inna ely gende ed as ep esen ing pa ia chal
au ho i y: he he oine Julia Mazzini’s o ced ligh om i e eals he ailu e o he
a he o p o ec and shel e he . In he same way, Julia’s disco e y o he cas le’s
“haun ing” by he p esumed-dead mo he – in ac kep imp isoned by Julia’s
a he o yea s – is an exposu e bo h o a building’s a chi ec u al sec e s, and o
“ he c uel wo kings o pa ia chal powe .”19 Robinson adap s his echnique,
indexing he s a us o women in Vancenza by hei ela ionship o he cas le. The
no el’s opening no only o eg ounds s eng h, sa e y and isola ion in landscape
and a chi ec u e desc ip ions, bu makes hose quali ies elian upon each o he :
Upon he side o a beau i ul o es , shel e ed om he no he n blas s by
a chain o moun ains, bo de ed wi h ees, he g ow h o many cen u ies
[…] he gilded anes o Vancenza glis ened o he eye o he a -dis an
a elle […]. [The cas le’s] s uc u e consis ed o a spacious cou ya d,
enci cled wi h a as pile o a chi ec u e o he mos exquisi e o de […],
he on aceing [sic] he lake was aised upon an in ulne able ampa .
(1:1-3)
The cas le is also ied o he condi ion o Coun Vancenza, El i a’s gua dian,
and simila lexical associa ions a e made in he in oduc ion o his cha ac e : his
ini ial desc ip ion includes he wo ds “ anquilli y,” “pa adise,” “ epose,”
“ e ospec ,” “unsullied” and “asylum” (1:4-6). The Coun makes a a al e o
when hey a el o Mad id: he “[lea es] he emales ungua ded” (1:148), allowing
17 Angela W igh , “Spain in Go hic Fic ion,” in Spain in B i ish Roman icism 1800-1840, ed.
Diego Saglia and Ian Haywood (Basings oke: Palg a e Macmillan, 2018), 175-79 and 183-84.
18 Dale Townshend, Go hic An iqui y: His o y, Romance, and he A chi ec u al Imagina ion,
1760-1840 (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2019), 137.
19 Townshend, Go hic An iqui y, 141.