"A Medium Made of Such Uncommon Stuff": The Female Occult Investigator in Victorian Women's Fin-de-Siècle Fiction

Abstract

abstract:This article examines how women writers critique the problems with Victorian gender roles through their representation of the inequality between male psychical researchers and female occult investigators in their fin-de-siècle ghost stories. In contrast to male psychical researchers, who adopt a rational outlook and demand proof of the supernatural's existence, female occult investigators practice different forms of occultism to achieve self-empowerment and to show compassion for others, especially ghosts. Moreover, female occult investigators embody the tension between the conflicting images of the conservative Victorian Angel and independent New Woman. Building on the work of Schaper (2001), I consider the portrayal of these male and female character types in Lanoe Falconer's "Cecilia de Noël," Lettice Galbraith's "In the Séance Room," and Nora Tynan O'Mahony's "Hester's Ghost." Ultimately, I find that these women writers unite the distinct fields of science, religion, and occultism by combining the male and female characters to form the New Woman doctor.