The Genius in Ardath: The Story of A Dead Self

Abstract

This essay explores how Marie Corelli shapes her emerging authorial persona in her second novel Ardath: The Story of a Dead Self. Corelli's concern to define authentic creativity and to emphasize ascetic selflessness leads her to redefine the standard Romantic notion of inspired genius. Departing from the image that she created in her first novel of an inspired genius who mindlessly channels the music of angels, Corelli experiments with a new idea that inspiration is a memory of poetry composed in the author's past life. This new definition of self-inspired genius, which enables an author to be both original and transcendent, holds a unique position in late nineteenth century debates about the link between genius and insanity, and is influenced by established fin-de-siècle concerns about the role of women writers in the marketplace. After exploring the effects of Corelli's asceticism and quest for authenticity on her style and characterization, this essay concludes that Corelli's concerns about reconciling her fame with her spiritual persona affect every aspect of her writing. In this lifelong enterprise she wrestled with the benefits and disadvantages of distancing the self from the world. The reconciliation of fame and spirituality is fully realized in The Sorrows of Satan in the character of Mavis Clare, a female author whose powerful yet indirect influence, selflessness, purity, and independence signal that she is an authentic, yet lonely, genius.