A representação da figura feminina e sua loucura no romance gótico: uma análise de "o que terá acontecido a Baby Jane?" de Henry Farrell

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the female figure in the Gothic novel by reading “O que terá acontecido à Baby Jane”, written by Farrell (1960). In order to understand what a Gothic novel is, we sought to understand its origins and its elements, it means, the setting, the presence of a ghostly character, bodily deformation and madness as a specific element that was often represented through female characters. In this way, this research relies on Foucault's (2019) reflections about madness to discuss female mental problems such as hysteria, for example. In order to investigate the character, we used the studies of Brait (1990), Foster (2005) and Santos (2022). After analyzing the work, we highlighted the presence of Gothic elements in the novel, the way the characters were constructed, that is mixing the Gothic novel written by men and the Gothic novel written by women. We also look at the journey of the main character Baby Jane and an analysis of her process of madness throughout the narrative.