Lucas Malet, The Wages of Sin

Talia Schaffer (Queens College, CUNY)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Newman University), Louise McDonald (Newman University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1890

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

The Wages of Sin (1890), by Lucas Malet (Mary St Leger Kingsley Harrison) is a daring and controversial novel about sexual mores. The artist James Colthurst's high-minded love for Mary Crookenden conflicts with his reluctant sense of duty towards his long-term mistress, Jenny and their child Dot. Although Colthurst appreciates Jenny's generosity and kindness, he is repulsed by her frowsy sexuality and idealises Mary's purity. The two women initially represent opposite poles, but the novel works to bring them together, connecting the virgin and the whore. At the end, Colthurst falls from the cliff where he had first seduced Jenny, a death that fulfils his own masochistic fantasies, while the New Woman Mary, set free, wanders …

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152 words

Citation: Schaffer, Talia. "The Wages of Sin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 November 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8078, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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