Ryan Lacroix, Gender Roles in Mary Braddens Lucy Audleys Secret

March 12, 2013

In the novel Lady Audleys Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, the main protagonist Lucy Audley stands in major contrast with traditional gender roles of the time in which the novel is set. Victorian norms dictate a highly submissive, innocent lifestyle for women, an expectation which is very much actively avoided by the mischievous and criminal Lucy Audley. As the novel progresses, we discover more and more about the non-traditional ways of Lucy Audley, eventually building to her confession of the greatest of all evil acts and a complete objection to the female stereotype the murder of her first husband George. Lucy, the name she takes for most of the novel, acts in many ways which subvert the role of women in Victorian times. She commits bigamy, abuses her husbands trust, abandons her family, fakes her death, and attempts murder just to name a few of her outrageous acts. In Victorian times, women had very strict expectations. The Victorian poet Coventry Patmore famously wrote a poem in 1854 of the name The Angel in the House, the title of which could be used as a solid description of what women during the time period were expected to be. A typical Victorian woman spent the majority of her days inside the home, accomplishing numerous household tasks ranging from upkeep of property to caring for children. As the husband was typically either out working all day in the lower class or taking care of business related tasks in the upper nobility, women were left to their own devices for much of their time. In a system such as this, it was important for women to follow their traditional roles in order to keep society working properly. Girls were taught from an early age to accept their duties as a wife, and efficiently go about their days without questioning either their endless amounts of mindless house work or the lack of true freedom in their lives. Men had the opportunity to come and go from the home as they wished, giving them the ability not only to be financially independent but also providing them with a break in the monotonous routines of daily life. A man could go to work, gamble, drink with his friends, perhaps even occasionally visit one of the many

opium dens hidden in the depths of Englands urban areas at the time. Meanwhile, a woman was forced through social norms to stay in the home day after day, accomplishing the same tasks she had been taught to do her whole life. It is no surprise in this case that women grew exceptionally bored with their lives, giving rise to the occasional deviant such as Lucy Audley. Although little of Lucys early life is known due to her nature of holding secrecy, it is understood that she was a governess, or a personal tutor as the position would now be known. She worked in a school teaching children under what we assume was her original name, Helen Graham, before the separation with her husband George. Lucys relationship with George had been threatened by financial issues, and in order to resolve these problems he relocated to Australia with the hope of finding gold. In his lack of presence, Lucy abandoned their son and left to find a new life with a richer, higher class spouse. In order to leave her old life behind she fakes her death, causing great trouble in George upon his return. My wife is dead! (Braddon, 78). The act alone of separating with a husband before their death was highly frowned upon in Victorian times, let alone the abandoning of a child. This is the first act of social deviance that we are aware of in Lady Audleys history, and already it is clear that she does not conform to the typical gender role which was placed on her. Immediately after the separation, Lucy (at this point known as Helen), changes her name and disappears in order to find a new husband to take care of her financially. Lucy decides to use her new identity to her advantage, marrying into a higher nobility family and thus giving her a higher social status than she previously carried. This act of purposely looking for a wealthier husband makes it seem as though Lucy has more mischievous motives than to simply be happy and secure, a clear example of her active avoidance of the female stereotype. Her new husband, Michael Audley, is known to be a very innocent and caring man. He sees the best in Lucy, and does not suspect even the slightest hint of her immoral past actions. Lucy takes his caring nature to her

advantage and keeps the events of her past a secret from him. In Victorian times a persons social status was extremely important, especially when choosing a spouse. Lucys abandonment of her past family is a major flaw on her image, and knowledge of this act alone would have prevented Michael from marrying her. The shame on her image would most likely damage Michaels reputation irreparably, as it does later in the novel when Lucy admits to her past. Victorian women were always expected to be honest in their speech, especially when something important as social class was concerned. Lucy directly lies to Michael, despite knowing the consequences of her actions, so that she can rise to a higher social class and have access to a greater amount of wealth. When Lucys previous husband, George, is brought to Audley Court by Michaels nephew Robert, she immediately goes into hiding in order to avoid the confrontation and resulting unraveling of her past. George is under the impression that Lucy had passed away, and after being shown a portrait of Michaels new wife he is stunned. Later that night George disappears, leaving no trace of where he may have gone. Through a series of clues, Robert begins to suspect that Lucy may be behind his disappearance and continuously attempts to confront her. Worried that Robert will soon find conclusive evidence, she sneaks into the Castle Inn, a small inn where Robert is staying, and sets fire to the building while he is sleeping in the hopes that Robert will be killed and her secret will remain unknown. This extreme act is very much a subversion of typical gender expectations. Lucy had already proven her deviance from the typical womans role, but committing arson with the intent to kill is above and beyond what anyone at the time would have expected possible from a woman, especially of such high apparent social class. In the novel Lady Audleys secret, traditional gender roles of the Victorian era are challenged by a small number of characters, most notably the notorious Lucy Audley. As the book progresses we become aware of the more extreme, not lady-like acts she commits on the people around her, further

suggesting that she is very much a social deviant of her time. Lucy goes out of her way to cover up her deeds and immoral acts, at one point going so far as to set an entire building on fire with the intent to kill. This conscious separation she makes between herself and the expected role of the angel in the house is a clear sign that Lucy Audleys gender role has most certainly been subverted.

1,244 Words.

Works Cited Braddon, Mary. Lady Audleys Secret. Houston: Broadview, 2003. Paperback