Visualising elite political women in the reign of Queen Charlotte, 1761–1818
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Date
04/07/2017Author
Carroll, Heather Nicole
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Abstract
This thesis examines the visual representations of elite women, who wielded and
were seen to transgress, gendered political roles through their activity in the elite
socio-political spheres of eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century Britain. In
analysing the portraits and satirical prints of this select breed of women, this study
questions the common bifurcation of gender debates in existing secondary literature,
which include, but are not limited to, the porosity of traditionally conceived public
and private spheres, contested masculine and feminine identities, and the gendering
of morals and vices. The study will explore how predominantly male artists
represented these women alongside an examination of how elite women were able to
manipulate and choreograph their own portrayal. As such, it will probe how these
political women utilised portraiture as a crucial means of self-fashioning; and
likewise how their satirical representation was routinely subjugated to the male gaze.
In doing so, it will reveal the varieties, vagaries and subtleties of the political power
held by women and how this could be iterated, celebrated, or criticised in the visual
culture of late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century Britain.
Four case studies form this examination. The first, argues that three women from
Rockingham-Whig social networks, Lady Elizabeth Melbourne, Georgiana, Duchess
of Devonshire, and Hon. Anne Damer, used portraiture as a form of self-fashioning
to both celebrate their friendship and declare their burgeoning political agency.
Chapter two revisits the 1784 Westminster election, to probe the theme of rivalry in
satirical prints representing female canvassers. It argues that the visual vocabulary
expressed in such prints pertains to wider cultural debates concerning class and
gender that crucially came to a head during this political event. The third chapter
introduces the dialogues between portraiture and satirical prints through its
examination of the visual media that politicised Scottish Pittite hostess, Jane,
Duchess of Gordon. Whilst the duchess used painted portraiture to proclaim her
adherence to culturally-inscribed gender roles, satirical prints attacked her for her
perceived political access, acquired through her daughters’ marriages and through
her close proximity with prominent members of the Pittite government. The thesis
concludes with a study of arguably the most political woman in the period of study:
Queen Charlotte, consort of George III. This chapter revisits her reputation, arguing
that a close examination of visual culture reveals that the queen, long thought to be
an uncontroversial figure, became deeply problematic after the king’s bout with
‘madness’.
In seeking to connect the visual aspects of women’s political engagement, this thesis
expands on previous work in gender, social, cultural, and art histories such as those
by Elaine Chalus, Cindy McCreery, Marcia Pointon, and Kate Retford to further our
understanding of women’s political activity and eighteenth-century visual culture.