Gerard; or The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1892). Mary Elizabeth Braddon.

Hatter, Janine

Abstract

Encyclopedia entry

First paragraph:
One of Braddon’s later novels, Gerard is a rewriting of the Faust myth through an engagement with fin-de-siècle fears of moral degeneration, loss of religious belief, illegitimacy and increasing scientific knowledge. Gerard has two key source texts: Goethe’s Faust: A Tragedy (1808) and Honoré de Balzac’s La Peau de Chagrin, or The Wild Ass’s Skin (1831). The novel introduces Gerard Hillersdon, a financially troubled writer, who must balance a two million pound inheritance with the news that he will only live a few years unless he leads a sedate life. The novel follows Gerard’s intellectual and emotional development through a love triangle with Edith Champion and Hester Davenport, as well as his dubious relationship with Justin Jermyn – a fate reader. Braddon’s novel critiques the rise of Atheism, and the vulnerable position it left women in when male suitors denied marriage due to their lack of belief in God. While Braddon’s updating of the Faust myth relied on reducing supernatural elements in favor of pseudo-scientific advancements, a Pall Mall Gazette review bemoaned the “sham supernatural which is mixed up with hypnotism and thought-reading” (“Some Recent Novels”, 1893, p.3). Gerard is Braddon’s attempt at writing high brow literary fiction in order to distance herself from her perceived popular roots with which she won her fame, and as a result is a fascinating contrast to her better known work.

Citation

Hatter, J. (2018). Gerard; or The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1892). Mary Elizabeth Braddon. In K. A. Morrison (Ed.), Companion to Victorian Popular Fiction (93). McFarland

• Publication Date: 2018
• Deposit Date: Aug 22, 2023
• Publisher: McFarland
• Pages: 93
• Book Title: Companion to Victorian Popular Fiction
• ISBN: 9781476669038
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4361083
• Publisher URL: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/companion-to-victorian-popular-fiction/