Abstract
The small body of work produced by Ella D’Arcy in the 1890s is noteworthy for its experimentation with narrative instability, its unsympathetic treatment of character and its oppressive, claustrophobic fictional world. The paper looks at how D’Arcy’s fiction makes use of shifts in focalisation, melodramatic plot twists and closure to build up a sense of irresoluteness and moral de-centering.