Narratives of sexual trauma in contemporary adaptations of Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White

Abstract

This essay explores some of the intersections between Victorian and neo-Victorian narratives in terms of representations of sexual trauma, examining the engagement with and motivation behind the theme of sexual trauma which features in these contemporary adaptations of The Woman in White. I consider the extent to which these narratives seek to highlight sexual abuse, which remained largely veiled in Victorian literature and culture, and the apparent ongoing problems of articulation inherent in contemporary portrayals of sexual abuse and trauma. In addition, I examine briefly the ambivalent nature of these adaptations in terms of their depictions of sexual trauma, which can be read as both indicative of a desire to uncover past injustices (the concealment of sexual abuse in Victorian culture) and as representative of a prevailing cultural fascination with sexual trauma.