Charlotte Dacre - Zofloya; or, The Moor: a romance of the fifteenth century

The protagonist of Charlotte Dacres best known novel, Zofloya, or the Moor (1806) is unique in womens Gothic and Romantic literature, and has more in common with the heroines of Sade or M.G. Lewis than with those of Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Smith or Jane Austen. No heroine of Radcliffe or Austen could exult, as Victoria does in this novel, that there is certainly a pleasure...in the infliction of prolonged torment. The sexual desires and ambition of Dacres protagonist, Victoria, drive her to seduce, torture and murder. Victoria is inspired to greater criminal and illicit acts by a seductive Lucifer, disguised as a Moor, before she too is plunged into an abyss by her demon lover. The texts unusual evocations of the female body and feminine subject are of particular interest in the context of the history of sexuality and of the body; after embarking on a series of violent crimes, Victorias body actually begins to grow stronger and decidedly more masculine. Among the documents included as appendices to this volume are a selection of Dacres poetry and excerpts from Bienvilles Nymphomania, a medical treatise of the time aimed at a lay audience that focuses largely on the dangerous powers of womens imagination; inspired by improper novels, it is alleged that women may plunge into madness, violence and deathmuch as does the protagonist of Zofloya herself.