In studies of Victorian print culture, historians have debated the reception of "sensationalist" novels—genres featuring sensational crimes and domestic secrets—among working-class female readers in nineteenth-century Britain. Some scholars argue that these cheap, widely distributed serials functioned primarily as escapist fantasy that reinforced passive acceptance of rigid class hierarchies and domestic norms. Sociologist Dr. Clara Molyneux, however, contends that these readers did not absorb the narratives passively. Instead, Molyneux claims that working-class women actively reinterpreted the transgressions of the novels’ middle-class heroines to articulate criticisms of their own economic subjugation and restricted social mobility.
Which choice, if true, would most directly support Molyneux's claim?
- ALiterary reviews published in contemporary Victorian magazines frequently criticized sensationalist novels for depicting middle-class heroines who behaved in ways that were inappropriate for their social station.
- BNineteenth-century booksellers' ledger books show that sales of sensationalist novels spiked significantly in manufacturing towns during periods of economic recession, suggesting the books served as a primary source of diversion.
- Nineteenth-century diaries written by female factory workers contain entries that compare the rebellious acts of sensationalist heroines to their own struggles against abusive overseers and restricted career options.Cevap
- DArchival letters from middle-class female readers in the nineteenth century express admiration for sensationalist heroines who defied parental authority to pursue romantic relationships outside their social class.