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영어

This paper attempts to explore the ways in which Charlotte Smith employs the epistolary form in order to convey her views on the contemporary political climate as well as domestic problems taking place in the private sphere. In Desmond, Smith expresses her radical ideas through the voice of Desmond, the novel’s protagonist who attests to the positive aspect of the revolution through his first-hand experience in France in the period between June 1790 and February 1792. The novel’s epistolary form activates polyphonic exchanges between different characters, enabling discussions about political issues and ultimately substantiating Desmond’s opinion through other people’s observations similar to those of the protagonist. In Desmond, there exists an explicit parallel between the public sphere and the private sphere, and Geraldine’s position in the tyrannical domestic space closely resembles the condition of the oppressed class under the ancien régime. Some critics express dissatisfaction with Smith’s portrayal of Geraldine as an ideal wife/mother sacrificing herself for the maintenance of the patriarchal order. Yet, the absurdity of her extreme submission and her inner conflicts represented in Geraldine’s letters paradoxically reveal the problems inherent in women’s position in the contemporary period. Also, the absent voice of Josephine, who is a “close double” of Geraldine and crosses the boundary of the patriarchal control, indicates the limits of the novel’s polyphonic discourse.