"The Madwoman in the Attic" offers a groundbreaking re-evaluation of how nineteenth-century women authors navigated and reconstructed the patriarchal literary landscape. Gilbert and Gubar's analysis delves into how these women writers expressed rebellion against societal norms through their characters and narratives, revealing their complex relationship with the literary tradition they inherited. By reinterpreting classic texts, the authors highlight how female writers subtly challenged and redefined expectations for women both in literature and society.

Jane Austen's Narrative Duality

In examining Jane Austen's work, Gilbert and Gubar identify an intricate balance between critique and conformity toward patriarchal norms. Austen's early work, such as "Love and Friendship," satirizes the exaggerated melodrama of sentimental novels, offering a refreshing critique of the period's feminine ideals. Her novels like "Northanger Abbey" exhibit a tension between accepting and parodying the masculine literary forms that idealize female passivity. Through characters like Marianne Dashwood in "Sense and Sensibility," Austen articulates a duality reflecting her ambivalence about female authorship within a male-dominated tradition.

Reformation through Rebellion: Austen and Beyond

Austen's nuanced characters serve as vehicles for expressing dissatisfaction with the status quo. Characters such as Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse embody a voice that rejects the extremes of submission and rashness, reflecting Austen's literary voice. Gilbert and Gubar highlight how negative characters, such as "mad matriarchs," symbolize this tension, offering a critique of the "glass coffin" of female submission prevalent in her time.

Milton's Influence and Female Reinterpretation

Exploring "Milton’s Bogey," Gilbert and Gubar discuss how women writers responded to portrayals of female submission in patriarchal poetry. In "Shirley," Charlotte Brontë offers a critique of John Milton's depiction of Eve, casting her as a Promethean figure challenging hierarchical authority. This reinterpretation positions Eve as a symbol of Romantic heroism, paralleling the defiance of figures like the Byronic hero.

Mary Shelley and the Monstrous Eve

The legacy of Milton's "Paradise Lost" extends into Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," wherein the character of the monster reflects Eve's quest for knowledge and self-definition. The authors suggest that Shelley, orphaned of a mother and searching for her roots, imprints her own experiences onto her work. The monster's exclusion from societal privileges mirrors Shelley's own literary and emotional isolation.

Emily Brontë and the Search for Origins

Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" parallels Shelley's narrative in its self-conscious exploration of origins and identity. The novel's structure and thematic focus on rebellion and lack of choice create a revisionary narrative challenging Miltonic themes. Brontë's exploration of female oppression and autonomy underscores the thematic continuity across female authors of the period.

Charlotte Brontë's Angrian Fantasies

Charlotte Brontë's "The Professor" and "Jane Eyre" depict women’s "fall" and fantasies of liberation from confined roles. In "Jane Eyre," the figure of Bertha Mason embodies Jane’s suppressed rage, a manifestation of her struggle toward independence. The narrative arc reveals a journey from potential spiritual death to a hopeful, yet isolated, union at Ferndean, offering a nuanced commentary on women's search for identity.

Villette: A Despairing Feminist Tale

"Villette" is noted as Brontë’s most overtly feminist work, reflecting her personal struggle with unrequited love and societal expectations. Through themes of imprisonment and isolation, Brontë questions the roles available to women, ultimately offering an inconclusive yet powerful narrative questioning women's identities and roles within a patriarchal framework.

George Eliot's Distinctive Tradition

In her short story "The Lifted Veil," George Eliot explores confinement and extrasensory perception, weaving a narrative that critiques male literary conventions. Eliot's works, including "Middlemarch," reflect her engagement with a distinctively female literary tradition, exploring themes of rebellion and female connection. Her correspondence with contemporary authors underscores a shared ambition among female writers to redefine women's roles in literature without succumbing to destructive rage.

Emily Dickinson's Eccentric Rebellion

Emily Dickinson’s poetry embodies a rebellion against gender constraints through recurring motifs of sewing and weaving. Instead of portraying madness through characters, Dickinson chose to inhabit the persona of an isolated madwoman. Her deliberate eccentricity and isolation were acts of poetic rebellion, reflecting a deeper feminist concern with articulating a distinct female identity within a literary tradition dominated by men.