Gaudy Night

The target for Annie’s hostility is female academics. These are women who spend their lives committing their thoughts to paper to expand the world’s storehouse of knowledge. Annie chooses the written word to commit her own thoughts to paper as well. Her weapon of choice is the same as the scholar’s most vital tool. Intellectual women once used to be called “women of letters.” Annie is a woman of poison-pen letters. She uses language to hurt, maim, and kill. The most vicious of her attacks is directed at a promising young student named Miss Newland. Because Newland devotes every waking hour to completing her studies, exhaustion makes her vulnerable to an attack upon her most valuable asset—her brain.

The poison-pen letter as a lethal weapon is demonstrated most clearly in Annie’s concerted attempt to destroy Newland’s life by destroying her mind. The girl receives dozens of these missives, all calculated to undermine her sanity. Any student nearing final exam time probably feels they are going insane. Annie tips the balance in favor of this belief by suggesting that Newland may actually be losing her mind. A few well-chosen words are enough to drive the girl to suicide. She is saved only because Harriet has the presence of mind to recognize her vulnerability to this kind of attack and preempt it.