An article by Davis & Elkins College Associate Professor of English Dr. Katherine Osborne has been chosen for publication in Victorians Institute Journal, a highly selective annual periodical of literary criticism.
The article, “Wives, Daughters, and Worsted-Work: Elizabeth Gaskell and the Trouble with Victorian Handiwork Culture,” explores a deeper meaning behind the art of sewing in Victorian times. An abstract of the article states, “Despite cultural notions that this work fueled women’s lasting homosocial bonds, Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1865 novel ‘Wives and Daughters’ represents it as alienating—distancing women from each other and the objects they make through self-conscious and negative emotions, including irritation, indifference, loneliness, and exasperation, which are fueled by competing ideas of what it means to sew. It is only when—and if—they put down the work, colored with competing meanings and intentions, that they can achieve any kind of intimacy.”
The article is a revised version of one chapter of Osborne’s dissertation presented for her Ph.D. in English at the University of Kentucky and the third to be published on a related topic.
“This has allowed me to continue exploring the topics in literature most interesting to me: gender, material culture, and homosocial relationships,” Osborne said.
Osborne also holds a Master of Arts from the University of Kentucky and a Bachelor of Arts from Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. At D&E, she teaches courses on literary investigations and women in literature, among others.
The English program at Davis & Elkins College encourages students to explore their individual interests in literature and writing, while developing skills that will prepare them for a variety of careers.
Victorians Institute Journal is an award-winning, refereed scholarly annual that publishes articles, reviews and newly edited texts of interest to Victorianists.
