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FromtheEditors
aswellasthestory’santi-patriarchalpotentialasanexampleoftheFemale
Gothic.
ThesectiononliteratureandthetheatreopenswithJacekMydla’sarticle
juxtaposingtwoplays-Sophocles’sOedipusTyrannusandHoraceWalpole’s
TheMysteriousMother-toexaminetherelationoftheOedipalandthe
Gothic.HecomestosurprisingconclusionthatTheMysteriousMotheris
fllessgothic”thantheOedipus.PrzemysławUścińskianalysestheaesthetics
ofsentimentalityintheatricalscenesfromHenryMackenzie’snovel,The
ManofFeeling.Connectingtheatricalityandhypocrisyheemphasises
thecontradictorycharacterofsentimentalitydepictedincontemporary
literature.Ontheonehand,thefashionabletrendwasclaimedtoportray
andapplaudinherentgoodnessandthesenseofpity;ontheotherhand,it
canbediscussedasasetofhighlyconventionalisedtechniquesofwriting
whichdissimulatethesemoralsentiments.MarekBłaszak’sarticlefocuses
onCaptainMarryat’sseanovelsandformsoftheatricalperformanceutilised
asimportantelementsoftheplot,withMarryat’ssailorstakingtheroleof
performers,minglingwithprofessionalactorsandtransformingaman-of-
warintoafloatingplayhouse.AndrzejWeselińskiplacesunderclosescrutiny
nineteenth-centurytheatricaladaptationsofMaryShelley’sFrankenstein,
tracingtheevolutionofVictorFrankenstein’sCreatureonstagefromanevil
murderertoarespectablegentleman.Viewedfromabroaderperspective,the
playsdiscussedinthearticleoferinvaluablematerialforscholarsworking
intheareaofadaptationstudiesand,specifically,thetheoryandhistoryof
intermediality.InthefinalessayofthevolumeMagdalenaPypećanalyses
thetheatricaltropeasarecurrentleitmotifinDickens’slastnovel,bymeans
ofwhichthenovelistworksouthisthemesandtheinherentlydramatic
structure.Theatricaltropessuchasreferencestoplay-acting,pretending
andassumingadisguiseandotherdevicesmovetheplotforward,develop
characters,organisescenesandcreatetheairofsuspenseandmysteryinthe
narrativewithasupposedfoulcrimeinthecentre.
Coveringawideselectionofliterary,musicalandtheatricaloeuvresas
theydo,theessaysinthevolumeoferdiverseinterpretativeinsightsintothe
interplayofBritishliterature,musicandtheatreinthelong18thand19th
centuries.Withtheirvariouswaysofreadingandexaminingpoems,novels,
playsandtheoratoriotheycontributetoamorethoroughunderstandingof
howaninterdisciplinaryapproachmayenrichtheinterpretativepotentialof
theworksdiscussed.
GrażynaBystydzieńskaandMagdalenaPypeć
(editors)
