New Masculinities and Snake Ladies in Vernon Lee’s “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady”

The tale “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady” by Vernon Lee is a rich text in so far as how it utilizes the symbol of the snake and its significance within pagan culture and spirituality. Prior to the cementing of Christianity, the snake was not associated with evil, but rather the opposite; with the arrival of the faith, it was demonized as were women, so much so that they were fused into a hybrid. Lee’s tale turns employs this cultural significance and deconstructs it, drawing from other folktales that also employed the figures of snake-women, such as the Melusine myth. The paper argues that through the tale’s main characters, Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady Oriana, Lee deconstructs the patriarchy as a construct; as something that does not simply exist in the world, but as patterns and behaviours that are learned. In “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady” Lee dismantles the system and proposes new behaviours and new gender roles for the members of society.