2. “The lady protests too much.”
This highlights society’s ideal roles of submissive women e.g. the
angel in the house. As she describes herself in the third person,
Byatt highlights her inner conflict and embarrassment. Christabel is
calling herself ‘the lady’, which implies that she is one of many
women in society, and all were expected to behave similarly. In this
way, we could say that Christabel is making herself comparable to
stereotypical Victorian women. She is protesting about going out,
which may suggest that a large amount of women felt safe and
comfortable in their domestic roles, and Christabel therefore
conforms to society’s expectations. This is a quote taken from a
letter, and as it is in this form it is written in an informal tone. Her
beliefs may therefore be exaggerated to balance the impropriety of
their correspondence.
3. “Nearest the fertile heat of Mother Earth.”
The word fertile reflects society’s expectations of women’s
worth; to bear children and presents the maternal instinct as
natural and necessary. The description of ‘Mother Earth’
suggests that this role can only be fulfilled by women, and
undermines the social power given to men. ‘Heat’ may
represent the pressure placed on women to conform to
society’s expectations, however it could also be interpreted as
a presentation of welcome and comfort.
4. ‘I see strange fiery flashes before my drowned eyes’
“Drowned eyes,” suppression by society as a Victorian woman,
‘drowned,’ within expected (domestic) roles. The contrasting
images of fire and water reflect her conflict between her fiery
character and society’s expectations. In the sense of fire and
water contending with each other the fact that water will
overpower fire suggests that women cannot compete with
society’s restrictions.
‘Fiery flashes’ reflects the Victorian social view of women being
unpredictable and suggests Christabel conforms to this belief;
the belief that she and women like her could be irrational.
Suggests multiple identities – conflicting emotions
