This thesis argues Richard Marsh’s Victorian novel The Beetle offers a critique of British colonial practices through the reverse colonization experiences had by British characters in the novel. Intrusive, exploitative actions perpetrated by the British subjects in the novel invite reciprocal mental and physical invasions from the female colonized subject. These encounters serve as metaphors for British imperialism, and the fear and loathing for the colonized subject felt by the British characters reveals anxiety felt by Victorian England regarding colonial subjects. The monstrous acts of the colonized subject mirror the exploitation of British imperialism, which ultimately critiques the practice.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis argues Richard Marsh’s Victorian novel The Beetle offers a critique of British colonial practices through the reverse colonization experiences had by British characters in the novel. Intrusive, exploitative actions perpetrated by the British subjects in the novel invite reciprocal mental and physical invasions from the female colonized subject. These encounters serve as metaphors for British imperialism, and the fear and loathing for the colonized subject felt by the British characters reveals anxiety felt by Victorian England regarding colonial subjects. The monstrous acts of the colonized subject mirror the exploitation of British imperialism, which ultimately critiques the practice.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dove, Kelsie Leigh"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Alexandra Valint","Allison Abra","Ellen Weinauer"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:27Z","subjects":["The Beetle","colonized other","sexual exploitation"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/50","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Alexandra Valint","Allison Abra","Ellen Weinauer"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dove, Kelsie Leigh"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-08-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["The Beetle","colonized other","sexual exploitation"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/50"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis argues Richard Marsh’s Victorian novel The Beetle offers a critique of British colonial practices through the reverse colonization experiences had by British characters in the novel. Intrusive, exploitative actions perpetrated by the British subjects in the novel invite reciprocal mental and physical invasions from the female colonized subject. These encounters serve as metaphors for British imperialism, and the fear and loathing for the colonized subject felt by the British characters reveals anxiety felt by Victorian England regarding colonial subjects. The monstrous acts of the colonized subject mirror the exploitation of British imperialism, which ultimately critiques the practice.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Fear of the Colonized Other in Richard Marsh's The Beetle"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Alexandra Valint","Allison Abra","Ellen Weinauer"],"dc:creator":["Dove, Kelsie Leigh"],"dc:date.available":["2014-08-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis argues Richard Marsh’s Victorian novel The Beetle offers a critique of British colonial practices through the reverse colonization experiences had by British characters in the novel. Intrusive, exploitative actions perpetrated by the British subjects in the novel invite reciprocal mental and physical invasions from the female colonized subject. These encounters serve as metaphors for British imperialism, and the fear and loathing for the colonized subject felt by the British characters reveals anxiety felt by Victorian England regarding colonial subjects. The monstrous acts of the colonized subject mirror the exploitation of British imperialism, which ultimately critiques the practice.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/50"],"dc:subject":["The Beetle","colonized other","sexual exploitation"],"dc:title":["Fear of the Colonized Other in Richard Marsh's The Beetle"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:27Z"}