Literature Network » George Gissing

Gissing's moral mischief: prostitutes and narrative resolution.(George Gissing)

Content courtesy of

From: Studies in the Novel
Date: 20051222
Author:Mitchell, Margaret E.

The figure of the prostitute certainly has a significant place in the Victorian novel, but conventionally it is a peripheral one. George Gissing, however, not only positions prostitutes at the center of Workers in the Dawn (1880) and The Unclassed (1884), but brings them in from the streets and places them at the center of the household, the Victorian bastion of feminine purity and virtue. Modern critics have been quick to attribute Gissing's interest in fictional streetwalkers to the fact that his first wife, Nell Harrison, was herself a prostitute. (1) But the prominence of ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on George Gissing

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.