Fleshy and Fallen Women in The Old Wives’ Tale : Two Sisters, One Fate in Arnold Bennett’s Novel

Abstract: This essay considers the use of two Victorian tropes, the angel in the house and the fallen woman, in Arnold Bennett’s The Old Wives’ Tale . Bennett uses both archetypes to examine the rapport between the two protagonists and sisters in the novel, to show the interconnectedness of the siblings, and to discuss their relationship to femininity, domesticity, and motherhood. The home plays a critical role in the narrative, as both main characters are defined by it and ultimately cannot escape its clutches. Whether faithful (to the hearth and family) like Constance or fallen like Sophia, the sisters’ destinies are the same.