“Art Has Well-Nigh Spoiled You”: The Overwhelming System of Things and the (Dis)embodied Woman in Lady Audley's Secret

“Art Has Well-Nigh Spoiled You”: The Overwhelming System of Things and the (Dis)embodied Woman in Lady Audley's Secret

As one of the most controversial characters in late nineteenth-century literature, Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley is apparently an angel in the house and in reality a cold-blooded murderess. While reception of this sensation novel centers on the issue of Lady Audley's madness and her culpability, it is hard to overlook her identity's deep rootedness in things. This essay aims to discuss the overwhelming system of things in Lady Audley's Secret, things upon which she struggles to construct her identities and yet which prove to metaphorically (de)limit, dismember, and devour her body. The essay consists of five parts, each discussing one system of things surrounding Lady Audley's body. The first part examines the issues of vanity, consumerism, and commodification via discussing glass objects within the text. The second part continues the deliberation upon glass by exploring the imageries of conservatory and hothouse flowers. The third part contemplates the themes of imprisonment and display via Braddon's imagery of “iron and glass,” which also echoes the 1851 Crystal Palace. The fourth part discusses domestication and domesticity via imageries of wax dolls and doll houses. The fifth part observes how paper enwraps and carries both Lady Audley's secrets and her actual body parts, metaphorically dismembering her.