The Doubled Edged Bladed that is Lady Audley’s Femininity

Throughout the novel, Lady Audley is seen as the pinnacle of ideal Victorian womanhood. She is conventionally attractive, charming, and fragile. When she goes to visit Robert in the Castle Inn she says to him,”…but my dear, silly husband must needs take it into his foolish head that it is dangerous for his poor, little wife’s peace of mind to have a nephew of eight or nine-and-twenty smoking his cigars in her boudoir…(Braddon 141)” Here Lady Audley attempts to cocoon herself in fragility and innocence. She describes herself as a “poor, little” wife and her syntax is immature. Through the perception of her in the eyes of others, Lady Audley is able to hide her true motives behind her femininity. In this instance, her act does not fool Robert, and her infantile facade if broken. Before this point, Lady Audley’s innocent front was almost a weapon to what she wanted. She wooed and continues to manipulate her wealthy husband with her feminine, naive guise to get want she wanted. In a society where women have little aspiration to strive for, it is quite admirable that she used what was presented to her and runs with it.  It will be interesting to see how Lady Audley’s weapon of femininity both benefits and betrays her. I believe that this novel tries to, as best it can in Victorian culture, send a message of the power of femininity through Lady Audley’s manipulation of it.