
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Introduction Introduction
-
‘An alarming lady’: The life and career of Sylvia Townsend Warner ‘An alarming lady’: The life and career of Sylvia Townsend Warner
-
‘Ungodly hallowedness’: The secret longing of Laura Willowes ‘Ungodly hallowedness’: The secret longing of Laura Willowes
-
‘A life of one’s own’: The liberation, autonomy, and free will of a witch ‘A life of one’s own’: The liberation, autonomy, and free will of a witch
-
‘A kind of black knight’: Satan, the liberator of woman ‘A kind of black knight’: Satan, the liberator of woman
-
A ‘tingle from head to foot’: Laura’s lesbian desires and the inversion of the Gothic A ‘tingle from head to foot’: Laura’s lesbian desires and the inversion of the Gothic
-
‘Out of her grasp’: Satan, the queer and effeminate god of nature ‘Out of her grasp’: Satan, the queer and effeminate god of nature
-
Feminism and the Devil: Warner as the epitome of a Satanic feminist tradition Feminism and the Devil: Warner as the epitome of a Satanic feminist tradition
-
‘I wish I were in her coven’: Lunch with Margaret Murray and ‘witchy glamour’ ‘I wish I were in her coven’: Lunch with Margaret Murray and ‘witchy glamour’
-
‘Miss Warner must clearly be a witch herself’: The reception of Lolly Willowes ‘Miss Warner must clearly be a witch herself’: The reception of Lolly Willowes
-
Concluding words Concluding words
-
-
-
-
11 Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Liberating Devil
Get access-
Published:September 2017
Cite
Abstract
Chapter11 scrutinizes Sylvia Townsend Warner’s (1893–1978) debut novel Lolly Willowes (1926), which tells the tale of spinster Laura ‘Lolly’ Willowes, who ends up becoming a witch liberated and empowered by Satan. The book caused a major stir, and is, it is argued, the most explicit and conspicuous literary example ever of programmatic Satanic feminism. It is demonstrated how Warner drew on contemporary understandings of witch cults and worked very much within a pre-existing tradition of Satanic feminism. Hence, the focus is in particular on aspects of the text that relate to the motifs seen repeatedly in preceding chapters, such as demonic lesbianism, a view of Christianity as a central pillar of patriarchy, and nature being coded as Satan’s feminine realm where he can offer immunity from the pressures of a male-dominated society. The chapter closes with a consideration of the critical reception of the novel.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2022 | 3 |
November 2022 | 4 |
December 2022 | 3 |
January 2023 | 9 |
February 2023 | 5 |
March 2023 | 5 |
April 2023 | 9 |
May 2023 | 9 |
June 2023 | 2 |
July 2023 | 4 |
August 2023 | 2 |
September 2023 | 7 |
October 2023 | 2 |
November 2023 | 11 |
December 2023 | 19 |
January 2024 | 14 |
February 2024 | 16 |
March 2024 | 6 |
April 2024 | 16 |
May 2024 | 8 |
June 2024 | 8 |
July 2024 | 4 |
August 2024 | 6 |
September 2024 | 2 |
October 2024 | 10 |
November 2024 | 2 |
December 2024 | 11 |
January 2025 | 10 |
February 2025 | 22 |
March 2025 | 3 |
April 2025 | 12 |
May 2025 | 1 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.