But Who Is ‘She’?: Forms of Subjectivity in Walter Pater’s Writings

Abstract

Counters current critical trend that concentrates on the complexities of male subjectivity and masculinity within Pater’s writings. Suggests why and how Pater uses female figures to probe the historicity of identity, the emotional resonances of religious narratives, and the possibilities of cultural rejuvenation. Denies that Pater exceeds existing gender boundaries; rather, he reproduces the gender determinism of his day, sometimes giving the impression he was a misogynist. Confutes that notion by showing how, when working closely with unfamiliar mythic materials or probing the contrast between obscurity and renown, Pater’s writings reveal a sensitivity to gender and its cultural implications. Concentrating on “The Myth of Demeter and Persephone” and “A Prince of Court Painters,” addresses the extent to which Pater reproduces dominant Victorian discourses on femininity, transforms elements of gender ideology in his works, and reveals his pre-feminist interests in a matriarchal figure of empowerment. Believes that from the mid-1870s until the mid-1880s, Pater’s engagement with female signifiers prompted an impressive breadth of writing activities and generic experimentation.