Serial Resurrections: Lily Frankenstein and the Irish Gothic

This article traces the transmedia narrative of Frankenstein’s female Creature in the tv series Penny Dreadful (2014-2016), created by John Logan. After a brief introduction to the theoretical framework surrounding the subversive constructions of neo-Victorian monstrous feminine, this article focuses on the character of Brona Croft/Lily Frankenstein as a specific example of gothic anti-heroine rooted in Irish literary imagery. The article thus shows how Wilde’s Salome, Le Fanu’s Carmilla, as well Maturin’s Melmoth, have all contributed to the genesis and iconography of Lily’s character, whose nar- rative arc encapsulates an unprecedented gender-driven interpretation of the Gothic wanderer arche- type. Ultimately, this article examines how the relationship between memory and trauma in the con- struction of queer identities are uniquely deployed in Penny Dreadful in order to offer a new perspective on the cultural representation of feminine deviance and empowerment.