THE SIGNIFICANCE OF VICTORIAN ENGLAND FOR THE COTTAGECORE AESTHETIC
Vol.9, Issue 2, 2023, pp. 293-311 Full text
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.23.2.8
Web of Science: 001131896300007
Author:
Edgar James Ælred Jephcote https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0942-5799
Affiliation: Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland 0102mm775
Abstract
This article contemplates the idyllic imagery of Elizabeth Gaskell's rural texts in relation to the key visual motifs of the Internet aesthetic "cottagecore." Meanwhile, the paper also strives to highlight the importance of both the Victorian era, particularly its literature and art, with regard to this popular Internet aesthetic. With some brief references to influential figures of the age, the cultural timeframe surrounding Gaskell's rural fiction is shown to offer significant historical relevance to the romanticisation of the English country-cottage life. The literary and pictorial texts serve as examples of this cultural process. Considering the author's mostly ornamental use of cottages in Wives and Daughters as well as her employment of floral characterisation, the paper also highlights the visual aesthetics of the cottage art of Helen Allingham and Myles Birket Foster as well as rural depictions made by illustrators of Gaskell's provincial works that display the visual after-life of Gaskell's rural texts.
Keywords: cottagecore, cottage art, Helen Allingham, Myles Birket Foster, Elizabeth Gaskell, Gaskell's illustrators, Internet aesthetics, nostalgia
Article history:
Submitted: 28 November 2023
Reviewed: 10 December 2023
Accepted: 14 December 2023
Published: 20 December 2023
Citation (APA):
Jephcote, E. J. A. (2023). The Significance of Victorian England for the Cottagecore Aesthetic. English Studies at NBU, 9(2), 293-311. https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.23.2.8
Copyright © 2023 Edgar James Ælred Jephcote
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Note: The author and publisher may have not traced properly the copyright holders for the illustrations before publication and apologize for this apparent negligence. If notified, the publisher will be pleased to rectify any errors or omissions at the earliest opportunity.
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Review:
1. Reviewer's name: Undisclosed
Review Content: Undisclosed
Review Verified on Publons
2. Reviewer's name: Undisclosed
Review Content: Undisclosed
Review Verified on Publons
Handling Editor: Stan Bogdanov, PhD, New Bularian University
Verified Editor Record on Publons