Contribution

After finishing The Wild Irish Girl, I wonder, what exactly was Sydney Owenson's contribution to the Irish cause? The epigraph from Fazio Delli Uberti that begins the text sets up the tone and illustrates that her main concern with this text was to do justice to the Irish people. Yet, I am not quite sure of what manner in which she chooses to bring to light the glories and customs of this nation. The novel takes on the epistolary form and yet is also a "National Tale," a historical documentation with social and political propositions, a romance, and a travel record. In addition, the novel includes significant gothic elements.

In doing justice to her people, the ultimate solution to the problem of the Irish is double-sided in that she advocates for a resurgence of Irish identity and reconciliation through assimilation, or the marriage of Horatio and Glorvina. Lord M's final letter to his son demonstrates this notion when he writes "Let the names of Inismore and M- be inseparably blended, and the distinctions of English and Irish, of protestant and catholic, for ever buried" (250). This instruction puts an end to the father/son mix-up, but also in a larger sense to the established feud between two nations. With this end, the independence and distinction that Glorvina and her father have stood up for is lost as the marriage puts an end to the ancient Inismore line. How do we make sense of Owenson's promotion of reconciliation through assimilation? If this really is the ultimate lesson, can we view this novel as subversive?