Female Captivity in Penelope Aubin’s The Noble Slaves (1722) and Elizabeth Marsh’s The Female Captive (1769)
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doi:10.4324/9781315265575-6

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Female Captivity in Penelope Aubin’s The Noble Slaves (1722) and Elizabeth Marsh’s The Female Captive (1769)
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ABSTRACT

This essay analyzes two depictions of female captivity in North Africa, the novel The Noble Slaves (1722) by Penelope Aubin and the factual captivity narrative The Female Captive (1769) by Elizabeth Marsh. The texts are remarkable for their quite different picture of female captivity and agency, as well as for their depictions of the Muslim “Other.” At the same time, however, there are striking similarities between the novel and Marsh’s “factual” text, which shows how the writers of authentic captivity narratives drew on techniques and motifs from fiction to create certain images of themselves as well as stirring tales for their audiences.

Female Captivity in Penelope Aubin’s The Noble Slaves (1722) and Elizabeth Marsh’s The Female Captive (1769) 1

ABSTRACT