The Victorian Gypsy: A Positive or a Negative “Other”?
The Victorian Gypsy: A Positive or a Negative “Other”?

Summary/Abstract: Discussing 19th century cultural differences from a present-day perspective enables the researcher to look into the literary past of racial prejudices and stereotypes and explore the Victorian figure of the gypsy as other both exoticized and demonized. This ethnic group was depicted in Victorian literature either in a positive or negative way based on the 19th century cultural mentalities, and stereotypes. This article attempts to approach some works of the 19th century writers who designed a psychological context with a view to understanding the complex nature of human personality, focusing on the presence of this eccentric ethnic group. Our endeavour is to analyze the figure of the peripheral characters as a representation of racialism and cultural difference. In this way, in an attempt to figure out how Victorian authors designed the gypsy characters, we have looked upon some literary works of writers such as Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, George Borrow, and Gorge Eliot.

• Details
• Contents