The Ghost in the House
Bowen's Court (1942) and ‘The Back Drawing-Room’ (1926)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23661995 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Neil Corcoran (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Pages | 19-38 |
| Publication date | 2004-09-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Elizabeth Bowen (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Oxford University PressOxford (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198186908.003.0002 |
| OpenAlex | W2497129039 |
| ISBN | 9780198186908 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
This chapter offers a reading of Bowen's family history, Bowen's Court, and of a crucial short story, The Back Drawing-Room. It suggests that the various types of ghost encountered in both are crucial to an understanding of Bowen's writing. It traces these back to Bowen's inheritance from forms of Irish 19th-century Protestant Gothic and from her origins as a member of the Ascendancy, in which her view of the ‘big house’ is crucial. It also explores in detail Bowen's view of Irish history, her attitudes of both attachment to and detachment from Ireland, and her permanent interest in various forms of dispossession. Doing so, it takes issue with some influential earlier readings of Bowen, notably that by Declan Kiberd.
Art · Art history · Genealogy · Irish · Linguistics · History · Irish and British Studies · Joseph Conrad and Literature · Philosophy · Travel Writing and Literature
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |