Victoria Leslie

I have always been very interested in the connection between water and femininity. Though male mythical entities inhabit various bodies of water in folklore and legend, there are not it seems, as many as of the female variety, nor are they depicted quite so readily in art and literature.

During my stay at the Saari Residence, I’ll be finishing a novel exploring this relationship between water and femininity, focusing on the nineteenth century when an interest in mythical water women was at its peak. I intend to explore the link between this mythical construction and the social reality for many women who didn’t conform to the mores of the day, when record numbers of Fallen Women were found drowned in the Thames. I want to present a more fluid, less polarised interpretation of femininity during this period and to consider how these mythical and historical antecedents are still causing ripples into the modern day.

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