Victorian literary theory

Jones, Anna Maria

doi:10.1017/ccol9780521886994.013

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Dressed in more black than white, he is "sinister predator, powerful protector, and abject servant" all at once. 46 He is not merely a demon who wishes to consume Ciel's soul, but also a figure who serves him, comforts him, and even plays a paternal role of sorts. 47 Even Ciel is simultaneously a defenseless child and a killer for the Queen.…”

Section: Beginningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Jones offers an insightful analysis about Ciel as the "paradoxically knowing-innocent child," where the innocent child is presented as a victim, but simultaneously, the knowing child is presented as an agent. 64 Ciel embodies this paradox through his explicit orders to Sebastian to kill people, but he is also portrayed as a victim on numerous occasions: when Azzurro beats him, when Sebastian tries to shield his eyes from Mary Kelly's butchered, bloody body, and when Madame Red attacks him with a knife. 65 The Phantomhive servants Mey-Rin and Finny comment that Ciel looks like a "baby" when Sebastian carries him, a sharp contrast to Sir Randall calling him a "vulture."…”

Section: Sebastian's Comment Further Indicates That the Image Ciel Po...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Black Butler: A Neo-Victorian Jack the Ripper and the Child Detective

Bilkhu

2023

JAMS

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In Toboso Yana’s anime Black Butler, she pairs the figures of the child detective with Jack the Ripper to arrive at a complex array of meanings. The Ripper figure continues to have one of the most popular afterlives following its original context of Victorian Britain, with numerous contemporary iterations and adaptations of the 1888 murders visible across contemporary popular culture. This article examines the characteristics that Black Butler’s child detective Ciel Phantomhive has in common with the Ripper (tragic histories, violent behavior, and the strategic use of knowledge). I begin by contextualizing Black Butler in regards to Japanese literature, a world literature framework, and the neo-Victorian genre alike. I then turn to analyzing how Ciel deploys the knowledge he gains from the Ripper case to legitimize himself; he both unravels the mystery of this figure and allows it to persist. In essence, the Ripper phenomenon garners such interest precisely because it is a mystery, and Ciel capitalizes on the same uncertainties and (lack of) knowledge as a form of power.

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Section: Beginningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sebastian's Comment Further Indicates That the Image Ciel Po...mentioning

confidence: 99%