'Thine sacred friendship' : Anna Seward's "Llangollen Vale" and the female romantic community
Blanch Serrat, Francesca (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Imprint:	Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018
Abstract:	In this article I will examine how Seward celebrates Plas Newydd as an embodiment of her ideal of female friendship and female artistic and literary creation through the analysis of her poem "Llangollen Vale". It is my belief that an examination of the motivations and aims behind this friendly coming together is intrinsically related to the construction of Seward as a professional author. I will, therefore, attempt to establish whether the Ladies' home can be argued to represent an ideal community. To do so, I shall address this question from diverse vantage points, including the divinisation of Llangollen Vale through the communion between the geographical and the architectural features and the exclusivity of the Ladies' retreat. Also, the role of Seward, as a writer, in their community, the female community as a safe space free from heteropatriarchal control, and the 18th-century conception of female friendship, in liminal tension with queerness.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Capítol de llibre
Published in:	Persistence and Resistance in English Studies. New Research, 2018, p. 64-72, ISBN 978-1-5275-0608-4

9 p, 213.4 KB

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