“The Death of a Beautiful Woman”: Women’s Suicide by Drowning in 19th Century American Literature

Abstract

Throughout the nineteenth century, there was a cultural interest in suicide, particularly suicidal methods that infiltrated every aspect of cultural production, from art to literature. This author seeks to provide a brief overview of nineteenth century suicidal ideation, methods of suicide, and instances of suicide in literature by looking specifically at portrayals of women’s suicide by drowning in nineteenth century American literature. Rather than being a comprehensive examination, this article is intended to provide a foundation for future scholarly exploration: this particular topic is largely unstudied, especially in American literature, and so this article seeks to rectify that gap in scholarly knowledge. The author looks at works of literature written by women in an effort to draw conclusions about the significance of drowning as a method of women’s suicide, and the implications of this action.