The insecure and the irrational: The Southern European other in The Tradition of the Castle; or, Scenes in the Emerald Isle (1824) by Regina Maria Roche

Abstract

A section of The tradition of the Castle; or Scenes in the Emerald Isle (1824), a novel by Regina Maria Roche, is set in the European Continent, which enacts a cultural confrontation between Britain and the Southern Other. Additionally, the South of Europe and particularly Spain is employed as a displaced scenario where the British could project their anxieties and accordingly face the conflicts of their own society. By using popular fiction and popular imagery, such as those provided by travel writing and the Gothic, Roche warns her readers about insecurity and irrationality beyond their borders - namely, war and political and religious intolerance - and about mistakes they should not make in order to reinforce their national identity and maintain their status quo.