ABSTRACT

Tracy Chevalier is an important British novelist writing in the fashion of neo-Victorian novels popularized by such novelists as John Fowls, A. S. Byatt, Sarah Waters, Michael Faber and etc. In the study of Chevalier, critics at home and abroad focused almost exclusively on the sexual politics conveyed in her Girl with a Pearl Earring, a novel which has refreshed our understanding about the historical circumstance of Johnnes Vermeer’s production of the painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. Very little attention, however, has been given to her novel The Remarkable Creatures, which, like most neo-Victorian novels, examines such topics as economic exploitation, religious conflicts sexual hegemonies, and most importantly, the impact of advances in scientific discoveries and technological inventions of the Victorian Age. For this reason, this thesis, after a thorough analysis of how Mary Anning, together with her friend Elizabeth Philpot, has established herself as a professional fossil hunter, attempts to examine the relationship between science, gender, class and religion in Victorian England. Such a study will contribute a lot to the understanding both of Chevalier’s thematic concerns in the creation of Remarkable Creatures and the factors that have led to the popularity of Neo-Victorian novels in today’s Britain. 

Key words: Remarkable Creatures; Science; Gender and Class; Religion  

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One INTRODUCTION-6

1.1 Tracy Chevalier’s Life and Achievements-6

1.2 Literature Review-7

1.3 Structure of the Thesis-10

Chapter Two CLASS AND GENDER-11

2.1 Science and Naturalism-11

2.2 Class Exploitation-12

2.3 Sexual Discrimination-14

Chapter Three SCIENCE AND RELIGION-17

3.1Fossil and the Origin of Life-17

3.2 Science and Religion-18

Chapter Four CONCLUSION-20

WORKS CITED-22