Food Symbolism and Traumatic Confinement in "We Have Always Lived in the Castle"

  • Esther Muñoz González Universidad de Zaragoza
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/CJES.56359
Keywords: Gothic, Gender Roles, Food and Mother, Food and Social Class, Power
Agencies:  This paper has been possible thanks to the funding received from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FFI2015-63506-P), the Government of Aragón and the European Social Fund (ESF, H05).

Abstract

We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) is a contemporary Gothic Novel in which women appear as both villains and victims, subverting the traditional characterization of women in classic Gothic Fiction. The apparently innocent and selfless Constance and the young Mary Kate live isolated and absolutely dedicated to housewifery. Due to the recurrent presence of food in the novel and drawn by the significance of its omnipresence, the purpose of this article is to discuss the symbolic meaning of food based on a cultural approach and how the characters’ relationship with food marks their social class, power position, anxieties, fears and desires within and outside the family.

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Author Biography

Esther Muñoz González, Universidad de Zaragoza
Research Fellow at the Department of English and German Philology of the University of Zaragoza,
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Published
2018-11-13
How to Cite
Muñoz González E. (2018). Food Symbolism and Traumatic Confinement in "We Have Always Lived in the Castle". Complutense Journal of English Studies, 26, 79-93. https://doi.org/10.5209/CJES.56359
Issue
Vol. 26 (2018)
Section
Articles

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