ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses a small portion of the spectrum presented by Victorian texts which deal – either as its main subject or as a secondary plotline – with the issues posed by Roman Catholicism and in particular by its growing presence in England. It examines the connection between femininity and the Catholic Church employing Julia Kristeva's concept of abjection. The book also analyses the dichotomy between feminine Catholicism and masculine Protestantism. It also concentrates on what is probably the most conspicuous feature of Protestant descriptions of Catholicism, that is, its relationship with sexuality. The book explores Catholicism as the "uncanny" of the Protestant national consciousness, the Other, which on closer examination turns out to be familiar. It deals with the questions of values such as self-control and self-abnegation, and the Protestant/Catholic division over them.
