The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana

by Jess Nevins

Rosalviva; or, the Demon Dwarf (1824)  

copyright © Jess Nevins 2022

Rosalviva; or, the Demon Dwarf was written by Grenville Fletcher, about whom nothing is known.

Leontini is a young man who is jilted by the noblewoman Viola di Morini. Leontini’s affections turn toward the Comptessa Rosalviva Cardoni. She is beautiful, educated, strong-minded, and rich, for her father was murdered and she inherited the family wealth. She has a train of admirers, but Leontini, a “young nobleman of distinction,” becomes her favorite. Unfortunately, he is too busy with his obligations to see her more than occasionally, and she becomes convinced that he does not care for her. She moves to Messina, supposedly still in a relationship with Leontini, but Leontini soon receives a letter telling him that Rosalviva is cheating on him. He goes to Messina to see her, but the meeting ends badly. Leontini is romantically pursued by his former lover Viola and is shocked the revelation of his true father’s identity, and these make him too busy to spend any time with Rosalviva. At this point Leontini’s friend Conte Paoli Golfieri begins courting Rosalviva. Paoli is passionate and warm where Leontini is tedious, uninteresting, and disinterested, and Rosalviva chooses Paoli over Leontini. When Leontini discovers this he disguises himself as a priest and hears Rosalviva’s confession. He confronts her and throws her actions in her face. She is mortified and furious, and they argue and have a final break. Rosalviva and Paoli are truly in love, but Paoli kills a monk for her, which gets them in trouble with Church authorities. Paoli is uncertain what to do, but Rosalviva, who has great strength of will, begins telling him what actions he should take and what lies he should tell to the Church examiners. He follows her directions and they are not charged with the monk’s murder. Rosalviva decides that they must stay apart in order to maintain their innocence, so he leads the life of a young bachelor, but while doing this he meets a rich ingénue, Francesca. Paoli still loves Rosalviva, but his family is poor and Francesca’s is rich, so he marries Francesca. This infuriates Rosalviva, not least because Paoli killed her father, something which didn't bother her when they were in love. Rosalviva plots against Paoli, her hate rising to an emotional crescendo. She is assisted in her schemes by a hideous, demonic dwarf. The dwarf pretends to kill Francesca and displays her “corpse” to a smug Rosalviva and a tormented Paoli. With the dwarf’s help Rosalviva then locks Paoli inside a cell with Francesca's “corpse.” The dwarf then reverses corpses, restores Francesca to life, accuses Rosalviva of all of her crimes, and reveals himself to be Leontini. Rosalviva, guilt-stricken, commits suicide by stabbing herself.

In style Rosalviva is an average Gothic. Its content is notable for its treatment of Rosalviva. Her character arc is unusual, in that she does not begin as a wicked villainess, ala William Henry Ireland’s Vittoria Bracciano (see: The Abbess: A Romance). She begins as a good person, passionate but essentially innocent, but circumstances and faithless men collude to drive her to the side of evil. Most Gothic villains begin as evil (see: Zofloya: Or, The Moor) or as deeply flawed (see: The Monk). Few Gothics show a woman evolving from good to evil in the way that Leontini traces Rosalviva’s fall.

Rosalviva is also a good example of the use of the dwarf in Gothics. Although dwarfs held positions similar to jesters in some medieval and Renaissance courts, traditionally they have been seen as evil figures, from the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin to Daniel Quilp in Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop (1841). In the Gothics the dwarf is customarily the evil schemer who helps the villain, usually a female, to execute her plans. There were occasional good dwarfs (see: The Black Dwarf, The Blue Dwarf), but generally the dwarf is portrayed as evil. Occasionally, however, as in Rosalviva, heroic protagonists masquerade as dwarfs in order to foil the schemes of the villain.

Recommended Edition

Print: Grenville Fletcher, Rosalviva; or, the Demon Dwarf. Richmond, VA: Valancourt Books, 2012.