during the talk she gave, titled “The American Gothic Afterlives of the Irish Servant”, dara downey touched upon many interesting points, among which the importance of the irish servant as a liminal figure in tales of the supernatural: she identified the stock character as being positioned somewhere between object—in that they have a clear role and function, as well as a tendency to conveniently disappear the moment they are no longer needed—and subject—given that they are people, and thus useful in that they can rely information necessary to the protagonist in order for the story to advance.
their portrayal still remains characterised by stereotypes and typecasts, and their utility to the plot is often that of, as downey noted, expressing discomfort in the context of the haunted house, and providing a contrast or double to their employers, who are much more sceptical about the existence of the supernatural. playing upon conventions of the irish as “raw and uncouth” (downey), as well as taking advantage of the reputation of catholics as somewhat credulous, the stock character of the irish servant helps the main protagonists along in their journey to accept and thwart the unnatural presence of the story.
despite the lack of a supernatural creature in julian fellowes’ downton abbey (2010-2015), the show offers a fascinating approach to the typical period drama tropes, having an equal focus on the “upstairs” family, and the “downstairs” servants. each character is attentively fleshed out—certainly one of the reasons behind the show’s success—and amongst the main cast, no one can say to have been reduced to a stock presence in the story. of course, tropes are ever-present, as are typecasts, but the writing allows for even the most glaring clichés to be almost endearing.
one of the most interesting members of staff to the crawley family is for certain tom branson, the socialist irish rebel who elopes with the earl’s youngest daughter. they begin to bond in the early episodes of the series, when branson is the first to support sybil’s political interests and aspirations, and in the later seasons—especially those concerning the great war—they grow closer as sybil embraces her role as a nurse, refusing the luxuries and privileges of her rank.
throughout the show, branson’s position changes immensely within the household: from being a chauffeur, to the revolutionary rake, to a runaway, only to finally settle as a member of the crawley family and agent of their lands, as well as a self-proclaimed supporter—much to his past socialism’s chagrin, one would imagine—of american liberal capitalism (season 6, episode 4).
in truth, the great shift in political thought that branson undergoes mirrors the tone of the show, which grows increasingly supportive of a conservative audience, going as far as having the irish rebel character endorsing the british monarchy.
i believe it to be necessary to place the focus on branson’s controversial irishness, especially in light of downey’s seminar and article for ijas. Much like Downey’s supernatural-aligned servants, Branson too occupies a liminal space within the domestic sphere of the show, and reflects the contemporary anxieties around Irish identity. Where Downey delineates the way that irishness was used to mediate between the uncanny and the familiar, expressing the thoughts and emotions that polite society would not be counted upon to confront, branson too represents a character who lives both as part of the household and separate from it, embodying the rising social tensions of early 1910s british-irish relations.
His role as a cultural intermediary changes throughout the seasons. In his earlier appearances he is distinguished by the marked political commentary that draws him closer to sybil, critiquing landed gentry, british colonial rule over ireland, and overall the outdated upper class traditions that require the submission and oppression of the working class. He gives a voice to the uncomfortable reality of systemic subjugation, and the show frames his irishness as a disruptive force—albeit a positive one—not unlike that of a supernatural presence.
As the story progresses and the times change, branson loses his edge. From the irish servant who reveals the existence of an “unnatural” to be banished, he becomes himself the spectre that is contained, and the first threat to this new balance is his radicalism. By favouring stability, embodying a new class division, and arguing in favour of economic pragmatism rather than equality, he becomes a trusted member of the family, and an asset to the estate. He never erases his otherness, but makes it safe and palatable for his family and audience.
It is not uncommon in american gothic stories to have the servants be reabsorbed into the house, their narrative raison d’être now absolved: Branson follows a similar path, having provided tension—romantically, socially, politically—that has been acknowledged and dealt with. He is then successfully “domesticated”, no longer challenging the state of things beyond some half-hearted calls for equality. His irishness is recontextualised, not a source of conflict for the crawleys anymore but a quaint, charming reminder that yes, they may be toffs but they have an open mind. He is allowed to remain within downton abbey—narratively and literally—as he no longer has reason or ways to unsettle the status quo.
As I mentioned, I believe that this reflects the tonal shift of the show’s later seasons: once the matters of war, class and suffrage are dealt with, the series begins to appeal and cater for a sort of nostalgic conservative aesthetic. The critiques of upper classes become awkward, and like the irish servant in american ghost stories, branson’s irishness is now an inconvenient remnant of a bygone era, and thus needs to fade from view. He remains as a bridge between the old and the new, provided that he keeps the rebelliousness of the former away from the sensibilities of the latter.
Ultimately, despite not pertaining to the genre of the american gothic, there is a definite parallelism between the irish servant as a stock character described by downey, and tom branson as its evolution. Irishness is commodified, allowing it to retain the useful traits associated with it—liminality, gullibility, loyalty and comedy—while abandoning its difficult aspects—pride, resourcefulness, defiance.
sources:
“Down Town in Downton.” andrew’s bookshop, 1 july 2015, andrewsbookshop.blogspot.com/2015/07/down-town-in-downton.html.
Downey, Dara. “From Dangerous Outsiders to Beloved Innocents: Irish Servant Figures in American Gothic”. Irish Journal of American Studies, issue 9, 2020. https://ijas.iaas.ie/issue-9-dara-downey/.
Hirvonen, Nenna Katariina. “I Don’t Belong Here”: Tom Branson and Irishness in Downton Abbey. Dissertation, Itä-Suomen yliopisto, 2022, https://erepo.uef.fi/items/e3f18bcf-f2e0-4815-8ddc-a5e6f134d967.
“irish housekeeping”. harper’s weekly, vol. 5 no. 221, p. 192, 23 March 1861. https://archive.org/details/harpersweeklyv5bonn/page/192/.
Leave a Reply