Prostitutes in Victorian literature rarely have a voice in any significant sense, and that is one reason why A Castaway , published in the collection Portraits in , is so remarkable. Augusta Webster , the writer who gave voice to a prostitute persona, was, by all accounts, a highly respectable woman, if somewhat unconventional in her ambitions for herself and other middle-class women. Webster used her own respectability to enable her disreputable persona to speak.
Furthermore, she did what no other respectable writer had done to the same degree when she gave narrative authority, psychological complexity, and a knowledge of social forces to a prostitute persona. This article was originally published in Victorian Poetry. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.
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Publication Date Winter Abstract Prostitutes in Victorian literature rarely have a voice in any significant sense, and that is one reason why A Castaway , published in the collection Portraits in , is so remarkable.
Comments This article was originally published in Victorian Poetry. Recommended Citation Sutphin, Christine. Journal Victorian Poetry. Link to Full Text. Contact Author. Find in your library. Search Enter search terms:. Elsevier - Digital Commons.
