Literary Techniques
The Characters and Themes of Behind a Mask
Behind a Mask is a whirlwind of suspense, vibrant with its forward-thinking feminist undertones. The narrative thrives through the dynamic interactions of its richly drawn characters. Bella radiates simplicity, Edward exudes a benevolent nature, offsetting Gerald's skepticism and Lucia's disdain. Lucia, with her arrogant demeanor, personifies the monotony of compliance, providing a stark contrast to Jean's complexity and Sir John's moral fortitude. Jean emerges as an intricately woven character, captivating not only through her actions but also her symbolic significance. A portrayal of Jean as merely scheming and embittered would have undermined Alcott's feminist narrative.
A Touch of Intrigue
With deft strokes, Alcott introduces the reader to a world of mystery, instantly captivating their attention. Jean Muir may initially present as a frail, unassuming governess, dressed in simplicity. Yet, "the lines of the mouth betrayed strength," and her voice possessed "a curious mixture of command and entreaty in its varying tones." By the time Jean retreats to her room and unveils her true self, the reader is entranced. "She had been lovely once, happy, innocent, and tender," they discover, "but nothing of all this remained to the gloomy woman who leaned there brooding over some wrong, or loss, or disappointment which had darkened all her life."
Jean Muir: A Complex Reflection
Jean embodies the realism characteristic of Alcott's work. Many critics perceive her as a reflection of the internal conflicts Alcott herself experienced. Much like Jean, Alcott harbored resentment towards the restrictive roles, meager wages, and domestic façades imposed upon women of her era. Behind a Mask is often heralded as a crucial exposition of Alcott's "double life" — crafting thrilling tales while concealing her true self behind a façade of social respectability.
Theatrical Contrasts and Revelations
Through theatrical allusions, Alcott deftly contrasts Jean's feigned meekness with her passionate inner self. A pivotal moment arises when, after Jean faints upon her arrival, Gerald quips, "Scene first, very well done," to which Jean retorts, "The last scene shall be still better." An evening of tableaux vivants — where characters pose in costumes for mutual amusement — provides Jean a stage to unveil her concealed hatred, courage, and unyielding will. Through repeated motifs of words like "witch," "spell," "charm," "enchant," Alcott deepens the reader's perception of Jean's formidable power.
Sensational Techniques and Suspense
Alcott employs techniques common in the sensational fiction she secretly cherished, weaving a web of intricate intrigue. The plot thickens with forged letters, secret accomplices, enigmatic histories, and looming threats of exposure, maintaining a gripping suspense. Jean's palpable fear of losing everything intensifies as the story unfolds. Alcott introduces a wary maid, Mrs. Hester Dean, embodying Gerald's suspicion and Lucia's animosity. Letters unveiled towards the climax cleverly corroborate Jean's cunning plans, while hinting at imminent catastrophe. As Edward grants Jean a mere three days, the tension escalates to a fever pitch until justice prevails and all loose ends neatly resolve.
Literary Precedents
Gothic Inspirations
Behind a Mask intricately ties itself to the Gothic literary heritage. Louisa May Alcott, profoundly influenced by the eighteenth-century Gothic masterpieces of Ann Radcliffe, Monk Lewis, and Charles Brockden Brown, absorbed the spirit of Horace Walpole’s pioneering work, The Castle of Otranto (1764). Radcliffe's renowned The Mysteries of Udolpho from 1794 wove a tapestry of suspense and terror. Her subsequent novel, The Italian, from two years later, introduced a darkly magnetic villain, simultaneously repellent and fascinating.
In 1796, Lewis dared to intertwine the horrifying and the supernatural in his novel The Monk. Meanwhile, Brown's creations, Wieland (1798) along with Arthur Mervyn and Ormond (both from 1799), echoed Radcliffe’s school of spine-chilling tales. By the dawn of the nineteenth century, literary works under this influence emerged from Alcott's Concord neighbor, Nathaniel Hawthorne. His The Scarlet Letter (1850) delved into the depths of guilt and secrecy, exploring their psychological shadows through a resilient female protagonist. In a parallel vein, Edgar Allan Poe’s eerie narratives mined the labyrinthine horrors of the human psyche against a backdrop of twilight worlds.
Victorian Sensations
Alcott’s writing is frequently linked to the sensationalist fiction that captivated early 1860s England, notably by authors like Charles Dickens. Dickens, after enthralling readers with Little Dorrit (1857), captured further acclaim with the bestseller Great Expectations (1861). Little Dorrit introduced the formidable Mrs. Clenham, a woman cloaked in secrets, while Great Expectations portrayed the vengeful Miss Havisham, whose manipulations ensnared her adopted charge. Alcott, familiar with Dickens’ oeuvre, often drew inspiration from his novels for her amateur theatrical endeavors. Wilkie Collins also left a mark on Alcott, his works The Woman in White (1860) and Armadale (1866) brimming with intrigue and malevolent plots.
Another purveyor of sensational narratives, Mrs. Henry Wood, in her East Lynne (1861), depicted an aristocratic woman's quest to reclaim her family. Mary Elizabeth Braddon, a luminary of lurid fiction, penned Lady Audley's Secret in 1862, a pivotal inspiration for Behind a Mask. Braddon's tale unfurls the story of Lucy Grahame, a governess turned Lady Audley, whose ambitious quest for love and status is marred by her manipulative nature. The narrative explores the "fatal necessities of concealment," revealing the extent of her performative deception wrought by life's dire demands.
Literary Parallels
Critics often draw parallels between Behind a Mask and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (1847), a book that captivated Alcott. The Coventry family's discussion of governesses at the outset of Behind a Mask mirrors a scene in Jane Eyre. Jean’s arrival at the Coventry household, dressed in a manner akin to Jane, and her participation in tableaux vivants echo performances in Bronte’s novel. However, Jean’s displays of emotion are mere artifice, unlike Jane’s genuine outbursts, and her marriage does not ensnare her to a Rochester-like figure.
Breaking Tradition
Behind a Mask both embraces and transcends the nineteenth-century traditions of sensational and women’s fiction. Jean's entrapment by her circumstances and her deceptions employ familiar tropes such as clandestine letters and the secluded country house. Yet, Jean emerges as a character of inventive depth due to Alcott's weaving of moral ambiguity with cunning. The relationship between deceit and power in Alcott's narrative defies the conventions of domestic novels. Any traditional elements of horror or secrecy in Alcott's work transform into clear, practical themes advocating for a woman's democratic right to identity and self-expression.
Adaptations
Behind a Mask took on new life as a stage adaptation crafted by Karen L. Lewis, gracing the vibrant theaters of New York in 1983.
