The Menopausal Vampire: Arabella Kenealy and the Boundaries of True Womanhood

Abstract

This article examines the work of the late-Victorian writer and physician, Arabella Kenealy, whom Bram Dijkstra says is 'still a bedrock of our own sense of sexual identity.' Kenealy preached the dangers of excessive exercise and education to woman's true vocation of motherhood. Although motherhood is at the core of nearly every piece - fictional or medico-social - that Kenealy wrote, she was also concerned with the figures who defined the boundaries of motherhood - the pubescent teenager, the 'neuter,' and the menopausal woman. in her 1896 story, 'A Beautiful Vampire,' published in Ludgate Magazine, Kenealy makes a rare foray into the genre of Gothic fiction in order to highlight the eugenic monstrosity of one such 'other,' the ageing woman.

Department(s)

English and Technical Communication

Keywords and Phrases

Menopause; Gender identity; Physicians; Motherhood

Time Period

1819 - 1880

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0969-9082

Electronic OCLC #

51218696

Print OCLC #

30983772

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2003 Taylor & Francis, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2003

Link to Full Text

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