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THE MURDERED COUSIN, 1851

by S. Le Fanu

The Murdered Cousin: Headliner
  • "And they lay wait for their own blood: they lurk privily for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owner thereof."

  • "He was, however, a proud, or rather a vain man, and could not bear to make the diminution of his income a matter of triumph to those with whom he had hitherto competed..."

  • "...his treatment of me, though uniformly kind, was governed less by affection and tenderness, than by a high and unbending sense of duty."

  • "I am rather fagged, but I am sure to be well paid for my hardship; I never want sleep as long as I can have the music of a dice-box..."

  • "A deep and lasting impression, however, had been made upon the public mind, and Sir Arthur Tyrell was no longer visited or noticed..."

  • "...to prove to the world how great and unshaken was his confidence in his brother's innocence and honour."

  • "...I received a most tender and affectionate letter from my uncle, calculated, if anything could do so, to remove the bitterness of parting from scenes familiar and dear from my earliest childhood, and in some degree to reconcile me to the measure."

  • "...and the associations which connected it with a dark page in the history of my family, combined to depress spirits already predisposed for the reception of sombre and dejecting impressions."

  • "...whose appearance well accorded with that of the place which they treated..."

  • "There was real good nature and delight in my cousin's greeting,... which placed me at once at ease, and made me feel immediately upon terms of intimacy with her."

  • "...I was lead to suppose... I found nothing... to bear me out in so very decided a conclusion."

  • "...the whole effect of his appearance amounted to extreme singularity."

  • "I felt that it was impossible that this man, with feelings manifestly so tender, could be the wretch that public opinion had represented him to be."

  • "I know not how the lights of experience might have altered this estimate."

  • "His manners, though not so coarse as I had expected, were exceedingly disagreeable..."

  • "You will readily conceive my distress, when you reflect upon my strong dislike to my cousin Edward, combined with my youth and extreme inexperience."

  • "I saw that he had set his heart upon my property, and that he was not likely easily to forego such a prize..."

  • "I stood staring at him for many minutes after he had ceased to speak, fascinated by the terrible, serpent-like gaze, until he continued with a welcome change of countenance."

  • "I dreaded to look upon the face that had so recently worn the appalling livery of guilt and malignity. I regarded it with the mingled fear and loathing with which one looks upon an object which has tortured them in a night-mare."

  • "The sudden and fearful alteration of his voice, manner, and face, but more than all, the unexpected production of my letter to Mr. Jefferies, which I at once recognised, so confounded and terrified me, that I felt almost choking."

  • ""No," thought I, "the God who has conducted me thus for through the valley of the shadow of death, will not abandon me now.""

The Murdered Cousin: Quote

"Many Victorian sensation stories were told in the first person, through "confessions", letters, and so on, with coy aliases or initial to "protect" the individual, as if it were a true story. The goal was increased reader identification with the protagonist. First-person perspective/eyewitness accounts were meant to duplicate the sense of "true crime" accounts which were reported in newspapers and court transcriptions, widely distributed at the time."

K. B. Owen,
"Sensation Fiction: La Fanu's "Murdered Cousin""

The Murdered Cousin: Quote

"La Fanu, a man of the middle class, often depicted a decaying upper class - if not corrupt, then debilitated. He wasn't the only writer of the time to do so..."

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"The author intends to reflect the moral and economic conditions of the aristocratic villains of the story. However, it also reflects the general view held by middle-class readers at the time."

K. B. Owen,
"Sensation Fiction: La Fanu's "Murdered Cousin""

The Murdered Cousin: Quote

"Underage, married and even divorced women could not own property, nor did they have the legal power to manage their own affairs. The threat of incarceration in an insane asylum was a very real one - it only required the signature of two examining doctors and could be easily procured. Victorian readers felt conflicted about insane asylums: they feared lunatics running around unconfined, but also were horrified by the idea of a sane person unjustly shut up amongst the insane."

K. B. Owen,
"Sensation Fiction: La Fanu's "Murdered Cousin""

The Murdered Cousin: Quote

OVERLAPPING THEMES. MOTIFS.

  1. Social duality.

  2. Family support and duty.

  3. First impressions.

  4. Social standings and gender roles.

  5. Rebellious opposition.

  6. Personal gain and greed.

  7. False aristocracy.

  8. Loss as an unfortunate happening and internal battle.

  9. Detective puzzles.

  10. Sacrifice.

  11. Rumours and truth.

  12. Good and evil.

  13. Superficial faith as good reputation.

The Murdered Cousin: Bio
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