RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Rebellion and Wilderness: Female Agency and Irish Nature in Elizabeth Griffith’s The History of Lady Barton (1771) T2 La rebelión y lo salvaje: la agencia femenina y el paisaje irlandés en The History of Lady Barton (1771) de Elizabeth Griffith A1 Freire Gargamala, Lydia K1 Elizabeth Griffith K1 Gender K1 Gothic K1 Nature K1 Otherness AB This paper endeavors to establish a correlation between the portrayal of female charactersand Irish wilderness in Elizabeth Griffith’s Gothic novel, The History of Lady Barton (1771).Deprived of agency and independence, female figures in the realm of Gothic fiction are oftenrendered as figures of otherness –alien, monstrous, and threatening– driven by a relentlesspursuit of liberation from patriarchal constraints. Faced with the choice between madness,death or exile as defiant alternatives to submitting to societal repression, these charactersbecome symbolic rebels against established norms, ultimately opting for a tormenting fateover submission. This portrayal positions them as figures of wildness and uncontrollability,echoing the untamed essence of nature itself. Therefore, by intertwining the fates of womenlike Louisa Barton and Olivia Walter with the chaotic and uncontrollable Irish landscape,Griffith’s narrative, enhances the complexity of her female characters, suggesting an innateconnection between their defiance and the tumultuous, uncontrollable forces inherent inthe natural world. Through this lens, both women and nature emerge as sites of otherness,offering new avenues for resistance and empowerment. PB Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de La Laguna SN e-2530-8335 YR 2024 FD 2024 LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/39782 UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/39782 LA en DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna RD 21-nov-2024