Genevieve cogman's the invisible library (2015) as a feminist utopia

Abstract

The present study is a rigorous exploration of retrofuturistic narratives in Genevieve Cogman?es The Invisible Library (2015) through the intersecting lenses of feminist utopian theory and feminism. The study argues that the novel reimagines Victorian history and gender roles through speculative fiction, situating its female characters as subversive figures who challenged the traditional ?\Angel in the House. ideal that once ruled the Victorian society through a contemporary context. This study engages with different feminist critics including, Virginia Woolf and Gilbert and Gubar, to reflect a rewriting of gendered power and literary participation. The library, as a feminist utopia operates as transhistorical space where knowledge, authority, and mobility are accessible to women. Moreover, a close examination of the novel shows how steampunk elements assume the role of narrative mechanisms that intensify the challenges women face while simultaneously expanding their agency. These technologies foreground the negotiation of modernity, technology, and feminine autonomy in neo Victorian contexts. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how Cogman?es work exemplifies a feminist project that recasts the past in feminist terms and imagines alternative futures through historical reinvention.