![]() In her novel the simple act of hiring a governess raises the spectres of murder, disguise, and adultery. The plot is implausible at times, depending on a woman disguising herself to work for her former husband and his second wife, but the themes of infidelity and destitution were very real concerns for the mid-Victorian middle classes, and the novel clearly delineates the sexual structure of a society in which female personality is suppressed by masculine will.Įllen Wood played upon the anxieties of the Victorian middle classes who feared a breakdown of the social order as divorce became more readily available and promiscuity threatened the sanctity of the family. When the aristocratic Lady Isabel abandons her husband and children for her wicked seducer, more is at stake than moral retribution. ![]() First published in 1861, "East Lynne" was Ellen Wood's second of over 30 novels. ![]()
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