Assess the subversive politics of gender and masquerade Louisa May Alcott's Behind a Mask

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Assess the subversive politics of gender and masquerade

in Louisa May Alcott’s Behind a Mask

Written in 1866, Louisa May Alcott’s sensationalist novella Behind a Mask explores the subversion of gender by sex itself, and through masquerade.  The central character, Jean Muir, ‘a haggard, worn, and moody woman of thirty at least’ (**), is an actress, playing her way through the reductive gender politics to gain security and social status.  The Victorian “Cult of True Womanhood”, as it was known, was an established view amongst the middle and upper classes that women should embody perfect virtue, through piety, purity and domesticity.   This was in accordance with the “Separate Spheres” ideology, in which women’s domain was the private, domestic sphere and men’s was the public.  However, there is obvious crossover in these spheres, for example, women educating their children in the home who were then to go into the public environment.  These blurry distinctions and the pressures of submitting to expectations, combined with the significant lack of protection from the law made it almost impossible for women to advance themselves in society and ‘actually encouraged people to subvert it’ (Keyser 1993:49).

 Women who had broken out of these expectations, given into seduction or sin were “fallen women” who were disregarded by society.  As the ‘divorced wife of a disreputable actor’ (**), Jean Muir is considered fallen and yet with her skills as an actress is determined to use the patriarchal class system and gender politics to her advantage.  Through use of masquerade, women could subvert these gender politics. As Simone de Beauvoir stated in The Second Sex, ‘[women] well know that no other way out is open to them’ (1949:579).  It is not surprising that sensationalist writers such as Louisa May Alcott chose to portray women challenging conventions in this way, as it brought to attention their plight and the extremes that women would have had to go to.  As Simone de Beauvoir stated in The Second Sex, ‘[women] well know that no other way out is open to them’ (1949:579).

Jean Muir is the main example of the subversion of gender politics in Behind a Mask, though it is through it is not just her masquerade that allows her plan to come to fruition.  Jean’s femininity is arguably her most important weapon against the established conventions of society.  As a female and governess, Jean’s role is to accommodate for all the members of the Coventry family, assessing their individual needs and her success is due primarily to her reading of their gestures, actions and words.  From their initial communication, Jean gauges each member of the family and how she will interact with them.  Even so much as arriving punctually ‘pleases’ Mrs. Coventry (5) and her mere appearance ensures that ‘Bella’s heart warmed to her at once’ (6).  Her ‘persistent avoidance’ (26) of Gerald only heightens his curiosity about the governess and by pretending not to recognise Sir John in the garden, Jean plays to his sense self-esteem.  In each case, Jean has tailored her behavior to manipulate the family to her advantage.  Melanie Dawson argues that her actions can appear over exaggerated at times, for example fainting in the opening scene and then murmuring in a Scotch accent, though she reasons that this is owed to Jean performing to ‘persons who are capable of seeing only overstatement and exaggeration’ (1997).  Jean therefore appears more literate and educated in being able to adapt herself to each individual and in comparison, the Coventrys seem unskilled and pay little attention or interest in her until it is too late, meaning Jean’s masquerade passes with ease:  a ‘perfect mistress of her art’ (6).  However, it must be remembered that the feminine ideal that Jean aims to portray, is ultimately a male construction.  Jean Muir, and other females adhering to the “Cult of True Womanhood”, are simply performing a male fantasy and acting according to male desire.  In this respect, femininity itself is a masquerade, aimed to please the male community.  As a result, Jean can be viewed as ‘an amoral woman for whom Conventional [sic] values are mere cloaks worn to manipulate others’ (Reynolds 1988:408).  Her feminine character traits are ‘citation[s]’ almost from ‘a range of culturally available female gender roles’ (Klaiber 2004:218).

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Theresa Strouth Gaul’s article on mesmerism aligns Jean with possessing mesmeric powers, which was not an uncommon idea in the 1860s and Alcott herself experienced this when recovering from Typhoid Fever (2003:836).  Associated predominantly with dominating males on compliant females, Jean subverts this by using her ‘Woman’s Power’ on the men of the Coventry household.  Alcott’s language helps this allusion, using ‘spell’ (41), ‘captivate’ (48) and ‘enchant’ (29), words associated also with a ‘witch’ (29), a description used also of Jane Eyre in Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel.  This language is also linked with the ‘femme fatale’ character, or ‘Confidence Woman’ ...

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