“The Cold Embrace” is a ghost story written in 1860 by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. We follow the story of a young couple. After being mistreated by her male partner, the young woman, Gertrude, drowns herself. The story takes a turn when she comes back as a ghost to haunt the male character, eventually driving him to insanity and, ultimately, to death.
Ghost stories became very popular in the 19th century, but they have been overlooked in history and literature, since they were predominantly written and read by women. Because of their female authors, these stories often tell us of women’s oppression in Victorian society. When looking at “The Cold Embrace” through a feminist lens, it becomes clear that it criticizes topics like male privilege, marriage and women’s repression and lack of social choice in 18th century society.
I decided to represent the female ghost in the story as vibrant and warm, stepping away from the more common way of portraying ghosts as cold and blue. I chose to do this because I believe she gains the agency and choice that she lacked in life when she comes back as a ghost. My goal with this project was to bring this story to life and highlight the importance of stories like this that have been left in the past and often don’t get the recognition they deserve.