I Introduction The women of Mary Elizabeth Braddons novel, Lady Audleys Secret, seem to take on doubling roles that illustrate the patriarchal society of 19th century Victorian England. Phoebe is Lady Audleyschambermaid until she marries and becomes Mrs. Luke Marks. Alicia goes from being the dutifuldaughter of Sir Michael Audley to the dutiful wife of Sir Harry Towers. Similarly, Clara begins the novelas an obedient daughter and sister, threatens a possible transgression, but ultimately ends up as the wifeof Robert Audley. Lady Audley, however, has several identities: she is first the daughter of adisreputable naval officer, then the wife of George Talboys, later a governess, subsequently the wife ofSir Michael Audley and finally an inmate in an asylum. Such multiple identities help her move throughVictorian class structure with ease, something Braddons readers would have both desired and feared.Yet she is only identifiable in relation to marriage. Little of her history is known to us before hermarriage to George, when she is simply Helen Maldon, and she has neither history nor future as MadameTaylor, after her second marriage to Sir Michael is revealed to be fraudulent. In order to survive, all ofthe women in Lady Audleys Secret find it necessary to negotiate their roles within a patriarchal societywhere marriage governs. All the women in the novel, save one, are ultimately confined to roles inmarriage. The exception, Lady Audley, is severely punished and declared a threat to society. In LadyAudleys Secret, the characters of Clara and Lady Audley are juxtaposed to represent the two sides offemininity: the domestic angel and the transgressive siren. Lady Audleys Secret illustrates the painful,but all too common, predicament of women who dare to be transgressors in a patriarchal society, but areultimately forced to negotiate within the rules of marriage and to choose between confinement inmarriage or an asylum.Lady Audl...
