gothic fantasy

7/23/2019 Gothic Fantasy

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The Gothic Romance

The Meaning of ‘Gothic’

The Gothic Romance is so called because Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto

(1764) – the foundational or! of the "enre1 – as subtitled A Gothic Story#

$n Walpole’s conte%t &Gothic’ simpl' meant mediaeal#

There is no relationship ith the Goths*

no Germanic implication (most are set in southern +urope) and

onl' a a"ue semantic relationship ith Gothic architecture#

,otice that &Gothic’ in 1-thcentur' +n"land meant prethe Glorious Revolution of

16---. and the /rotestant +nli"htenment#

Gothic romances tend to be set in 0atholic countries because Catholicism as

associated ith superstition in the +nli"htened /rotestant mind#

rom this perspectie there is no contradiction in the fact that Gothic Romance is

influenced b'2

Shakespeare (in 176. +li3abeth onta"u described 5ha!espeare as +n"land’s &Gothic

ard’)2

Jacobean trage!

Milton

The Whi"s especiall' associated Gothicism ith the &Gothic’ n"lo5a%ons2 a

freeom"loving people ho ere the true ancestors of the +n"lish (s# the &continental’

t'rannical ,ormans)This ties Gothicism in to antirench* anti0atholic feelin"s##

1 though some people argue that Thomas $elan’s Longsword, Earl of Salisbury: An Historical

Romance %1&'2( is the first Gothic narrative)

8 in An Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakeseare %1*'&(9 +ritain ,as at ,ar ,ith -rance from 1*.' to 1*'#/ a ke! perio in the formation of the Gothic

m!th of national origin



0re"ovelistic lements

Gothic fantas' feeds upon and mi%es ith a ide ariet' of literar' sources2

ritish fol!lore*

ballads*

romance*+n"lish medieal poetr'*

the ma:or or!s of 5penser and the +li3abethans*

the Grae'ard poets*

the sentimental noelists and

German traditions#

Gothic prose har!ed bac! to pre"novelistic elements such as2

the stran"lehold of the past upon the present

the encroachment of the &dar!’ a"es of oppression upon the &enli"htened’ modern

era

the supernaturalsimplifie characters

sharpl! iscriminate heroes and illains* masters and ictims

cruelt' stemmin" from absolute and arbitrar! po,er

mile"class suspicion of ecaent aristocrac!

the prota"onist is usuall' isolated from a social conte%t

the plot emphasi3es adenture

there is a ;uest for an ideal or the pursuit of an enem'

eents are nonrealistic and often meloramatic

eents ma' pro:ect in s!mbolic form the primal esires* hopes* and terrors in the

epth of the human min (ps'chomachia<)

the' are therefore analo"ous to the materials of m!th* ritual and folklore#

=ne of the reasons for the popularit' of Gothic fiction as that* ith the ,eakening of

the sustainin" and containin" religious frame,ork * it proided somethin" of an

alternatie outlet and repositor' for man' impulses of the Romantic reial hich had

not 'et been properl' assimilated at a more serious leel#

Horace Walpole’s declared aim as to combine elements of

the meieval romance* hich he deemed too fanciful* and

the moern novel* hich he considered to be too confined to strict realism#



Meiaevalism

The Gothic is s'mptomatic of a nostal"ia for the past hich idealises the meieval

,orl as one of holeness* in hich indiiduals ere defined as members of the &bod'

politic’>

this ie contrasts ith a modern bour"eois societ'* made up of atomistic possessieindiiduals* ho hae no relation to each other#

ttac!in" a dehumani3in" modern orld* the Gothic is thus a part of the rise of

meievalism* ith its focus on recoerin" a natie +n"lish literar' tradition#

The art of their forefathers and the fol! traditions the' dre upon mi"ht not conform to

u"ustan ideal and rules* that had ta!en its name from the u"ustan period of the

Roman +mpire* but the' are reieed and reealuated b' Gothic artists#

The Goo in ‘Gothic’

The term had been used pe:oratiel' as a s'non'm for the barbaric and the primitie

(the Goths)#

5ome critics had started to ar"ue for a more positie readin" of the Gothic a"e hich*

precisel' because of its more primitie nature* had alloed for more imaginative

invention than the rational and ciili3ed present#

The birth of Gothic fiction came about as a result of the chan"es in cultural emphasis in

the +i"hteenth 0entur'# $t as considered as oppose to the classical2

chaos s# order*

simplicit! an purit! a"ainst ornamentation*

e3aggeration a"ainst rules and limits#

The Gothic ima"er' has been considered b' ps'choanal'tical critics as reflectin" the

return of the represse* in hich subconscious ps'chic ener"' bursts out from the

restraints of the conscious e"o> it has also been read

as a si"n of the resurrection of the need for the sacred and transcendent in a modern

enli"htened secular orld* hich denies the e%istence of supernatural forces* or

as the rebellion of the imagination a"ainst the t'rann' of reason#

$n "eneral it has been associated ith a rebellion a"ainst a constrainin" neoclassicalaesthetic ideal of order and unit'* in order to recoer a suppressed primitive and

barbaric ima"inatie freedom#

$t has been seen as hain" the emer"in" alues of Romanticism2

(interest in the bi4arre* eccentric* ,il* la,less and transgressive in ori"inalit' and the

ima"ination)



5 Response to 5lienation

5ociall'* emer"ent capitalism had led to a sense of isolation and alienation>

the urban centres had isconnecte people* and obiousl' literature* from the natural

,orl#

?iscoeries in the science had sered to increase this alienation and to disturb notionsof human identit'> the' had displaced metaph'sical and theolo"ical inesti"ations#

That is h' science became a site of particular interest to Gothic riters* such as ar'

5helle'#

Gothic Moralit!

$t mi"ht seem a bit superficial* but $an Watt displaces its comple%it' from characters

onto the reader’s response to the situation presented* as the Gothic’s main concern is to

create a feelin" or affect in its reaers and not to depict a character* as some of their

readers at that time* includin" 5cott hae stated#

The Gothic depicts e3treme mental states – aboe all* fear#

?ue to this* it as inoled in the debates on the moral dan"ers of readin"#

$t is no difficult for us to beliee Thomas Gra! and his 0ambrid"e friends ere

@afraid to "o to bed o’ni"htsA after readin" The Castle of Otranto#

Gener 6 the Gothic

Gothic fiction as assumed to hae a mostl' female reaership#

While to earlier conseratie moralists it offered an ima"inatie retreat from realit' and

it as seen as a potentiall' amoral subversion of social order* to man' modern critics

this has proed it to be a reactionar'* sociall' conseratie form#

$n the Radcliffean model* especiall'* the ima"ination is indul"ed throu"h suspense* onl'

to be ultimatel' contained b' the final authorit' of moralit'#

The Gothic su""ests that the ineitable can onl' be deferred for a time* as the omestic

sphere is the onl' appropriate end of a oman’s adenture#

or others* hoeer* it is a potential ehicle for feminine subversion> its escape from

the real orld has a purpose2 to ma!e an indirect criti;ue of thin"s from the distance#

The female Gothic itself is not a ratification but an e%posB of domesticit' and the

famil'* throu"h the techni;ue of estran"ement or romantic defamiliarisation#

The ambi"uit' of the Gothic is created b' a tension beteen its reactionar' moral and

reolutionar' aesthetic alue* both of hich are bour"eois creations#



+urke’s Sublime Revisite

ur!e’s Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (17C7) effected the first

connection beteen sublimit' and terror2 terror could be a source of sublimit' and both

are essential mar!s of humanness# Here are some e%cerpts from this essa'2

Whateer is fitted in an' sort to e%cite the ideas of pain and dan"er* that is to sa'*

hateer is in an' sort terrible* or is conersant about terrible ob:ects* or operates

in a manner analo"ous to terror* is a source of the sublime> that* is* it is productie

of the stron"est emotion hich the mind is capable of feelin"### When dan"er or

pain press too nearl'* the' are incapable of "iin" an' deli"ht* and are simpl'

terrible> but at certain distances* and ith certain modifications* the' ma' be* and

the' are* deli"htful* as e eer' da' e%perience#A (/art $ – 5ection D$$ – =f the

5ublime)

The passion caused b' the "reat and sublime in nature* hen those causes operate

most poerfull'* is astonishment> and astonishment is that state of the soul* inhich all it motions are suspended* ith some de"ree of horror### Hence arises the

"reat poer of the sublime* that* far from bein" produced b' them* it anticipates

our reasonin"s* and hurries us on b' an irresistible force# (/art $$ – 5ection $ – of

the /assion 0aused b' the 5ublime)

,o passion so effectuall' robs the mind of all its poers of actin" and reasonin"

as fearE or fear bein" an apprehension of pain or death* it operates in a manner

that resembles actual pain### $ndeed* terror is in all cases hatsoeer* either more

openl' or latentl'* the rulin" principle of the sublime# (/art $$ – 5ection $$ –Terror)

To ma!e an'thin" er' terrible* obscurit! seems in "eneral to be necessar'# When

e !no the full e%tent of an' dan"er* hen e can accustom our e'es to it* a

"reat deal of the apprehension anishes# +er' one ill be sensible of this* ho

considers ho "reatl' ni"ht adds to our dread* in all cases of dan"er* and ho

much the notions of "hosts and "oblins* of hich none can form clear ideas* affect

minds hich "ie credit to the popular tales concernin" such sorts of bein"s# (/art

$$ – 5ection $$$ – =bscurit')

esides those thin"s hich directl' su""est the idea of dan"er* and those hich

produce a similar effect from a mechanical cause* $ !no of nothin" sublime*

hich is not some modification of poer### ut pain is ala's inflicted b' a poer in some a' superior* because e neer submit to pain illin"l'# (/art $$ –

5ection D – /oer)

ll "eneral priations are "reat* because the' are all terrible> Dacuit'* ?ar!ness*

5olitude* and 5ilence# (/art $$ – 5ection D$ – /riation)



Greatness of dimension is a poerful cause of the sublime### +%tension is either in

len"th* hei"ht* or depth# =f these the len"th stri!es least### $ am apt to ima"ine

li!eise* that hei"ht is less "rand than depth### perpendicular has more force in

formin" the sublime* than an inclined an inclined plane> and the effects of a

ru""ed and bro!en surface seem stron"er that here it is smooth and polished####(/art $$ – 5ection D$$ –Dastness)

nother source of "reatness is Difficulty# (/art $$ – 5ection F$$ – ?ifficult')

;uic! transition from li"ht to dar!ness* or from dar!ness to li"ht# has 'et a

"reater effect# ut dar!ness is more productie of sublime ideas than li"ht# (/art $$

– 5ection F$D – i"ht)

The e'e is not the onl' or"an of sensation b' hich a sublime passion ma' be

produced# Souns hae a "reat poer in these as in most other passions# $ do not

mean ords* because ords do not affect simpl' b' their sounds* but b' meansalto"ether different### The noise of vast cataracts* raging storms* thuner* or

artiller!* aa!es a "reat and aful sensation in the mind* thou"h e can obsere

no nicet' or artifice in those sorts of music# The shoutin" of multitudes has a

similar effect> and* b' the sole stren"th of the sound* so ama3es and confounds the

ima"ination* that* in this sta""erin" and hurr' of the mind* the best established

tempers can scarcel' forbear bein" borne don* and :oinin" in the common cr'*

and common resolution of the crod### (/art $$ – 5ection FD$$ – 5ound and

oudness)

,o* some lo* confused* uncertain sounds* leae us in the same fearful an%iet'

concernin" their causes* that no li"ht* or an uncertain li"ht* does concernin" the

ob:ects that surround us#### ut li"ht no appearin" and no leain" us* and so off

and on* is een more terrible than total dar!ness2 and a sort of uncertain sounds

are* hen the necessar' dispositions concur* more alarmin" than a total silence###

(/art $$ – 5ection F$F – $ntermittin")



5rchitecture as another of the fields ere the meanin" of the term &Gothic’ as

chan"ed> it as used to refer to medieal architecture hich en:o'ed a reial of the

taste for medieal buildin"s* also pioneered b' 7orace 8alpole#

/hilosophicall'* it becomes easil' allied ith Rousseauian primitiism* in hich the

past is seen closer to nature than the present* associated ith the corruptin" andartificial influence of societ'#

What ma!es a or! Gothic is a combination of at least some of these elements2

• a castle* ruined or intact* haunted or not# The castle ma' be near or connecte to

caves#

• ruined buildin"s hich are sinister or hich arouse a pleasin" melanchol'*

• ungeons* unergroun passages* cr!pts* and catacombs hich* in modern

houses* become spoo!' basements or attics*

• lab'rinths* dar! corridors* and indin" stairs# The important thin" is a sensation of

claustrophobia#• shados* a beam of moonlight in the blac!ness* a flic!erin" canle* or the onl'

source of li"ht failin" (a candle blon out or an electric failure)*

• sublime lanscapes* li!e ru""ed mountains* thic! forests* or ic' astes* and

e%treme eather*

• omens and ancestral curses*

• ma"ic* supernatural manifestations* or the su""estion of the supernatural*

• a passion"riven * ilful villain or proto"+!ronic illainhero*

• a curious heroine ith a tendenc' to faint and a need to be rescued–fre;uentl'*

• a hero hose true identit' is reealed b' the end of the noel*

•

horrif'in" (or terrif'in") eents or the threat of such happenin"s#

0athetic -allac!

The "oal of the dar! and m'sterious settin" is to create a sense of unease and

forebodin"* contributin" toard the atmospheric element of fear and rea#

?ar!ness also allos those sudden and fri"htenin" appearance of people* animals* or

monsters#

ind* especiall' holin" rain* especiall' bloin"

doors "ratin" on rust' hin"es si"hs* moans* hols* eerie sounds

footsteps approachin" clan!in" chains

li"hts in abandoned rooms "usts of ind bloin" out li"hts

characters trapped in a room doors suddenl' slammin" shut

ruins of buildin"s ba'in" of distant do"s (or oles<)

thunder and li"htnin" cra3ed lau"hter



=ften the plot itself is built aroun a m!ster!* such as un!non parenta"e* a

disappearance

5n ancient prophec! is connected ith the castle or its inhabitants (either former or

present)# The prophec' is usuall' obscure* partial* or confusin"# What could it mean<

9mens/ 0ortents/ :isions

character ma' hae a disturbin" ream vision* or some phenomenon ma' be seen as

a portent of comin" eents# or e%ample* if the statue of the lord of the manor falls

oer* it ma' portend his death#

The :ocabular! of the Gothic

The constant use of the appropriate ocabular' set creates an sustains the atmosphere of

the "othic# Isin" the ri"ht ords maintains the dar!andstimulated feel that defines the

"othic# Here as an e%ample are some of the ords (in seeral cate"ories) that help ma!eup the ocabular' of the "othic in The Castle of Otranto2

M!ster! diabolical* enchantment* "host* "oblins* haunted* infernal* ma"ic* ma"ician*

miracle* necromancer* omens* ominous* portent* preternatural* prodi"'*

prophec'* secret* sorcerer* spectre* spirits* stran"eness* talisman* ision

-ear/

terror or

sorro,

afflicted* affliction* a"on'* an"uish* apprehensions* apprehensie*

commiseration* concern* despair* dismal* disma'* dread* dreaded* dreadin"*

fearin"* frantic* fri"ht* fri"htened* "rief* hopeless* horrid* horror* lamentable*

melanchol'* miserable* mournfull'* panic* sadl'* scared* shrie!s* sorro*s'mpath'* tears* terrible* terrified* terror* unhapp'* retched

Surprise alarm* ama3ement* astonished* astonishment* shoc!in"* starin"* surprise*

surprised* thunderstruc!* onder

7aste an%ious* breathless* fli"ht* frantic* hastened* hastil'* impatience* impatient*

impatientl'* impetuosit'* precipitatel'* runnin"* sudden* suddenl'

5nger an"er* an"ril'* choler* enra"ed* furious* fur'* incense* incensed* proo!ed*

ra"e* rain"* resentment* temper* rath* rathful* rathfull'

$argeness enormous* "i"antic* "iant* lar"e* tremendous* ast

;arkness dar!* dar!ness* dismal* shaded* blac!* ni"ht

<ncestuous ;esire

The noel itself tells a supernatural tale in hich anfred* the "loom' /rince of

=tranto* deelops an irresistible passion for the beautiful 'oun" oman ho as to

hae married his son and heir#



The noel opens memorabl' ith this son bein" crushed to death b' the hu"e helmet

from a statue of a preious /rince of =tranto* and throu"hout the noel the er' fabric

of the castle comes to supernatural life until illain' is defeated#

Strange places

$t is usual for characters in Gothic fiction to find themseles in a strange place>

somehere other* different* m'sterious# $t is often threatenin" or iolent* sometimes

se%uall' enticin"* often a prison#

=ften in classic Gothic fiction – in the noels of nn Radcliffe for e%ample – it ta!es

place in distant* mar"inal* m'sterious southern +urope#

Clashing time perios

Just as places are often m'sterious* lost* dar! or secret in Gothic fiction* so too are its

characteristic times# Gothics often ta!e place at moments of transition (beteen the

medieal period and the Renaissance* for e%ample) or brin" to"ether radicall' different

times# There is a strong opposition (but also a m!sterious affinit!) in the Gothic

bet,een the ver! moern an the ancient or archaic * as eer'thin" that characters

and readers thin! that the'’e safel' left behind comes bac! ith a en"eance#

Sigmun -reu rote a celebrated essa' on &The =ncann!’ (1.1.)* hich he defined

as &that class of the fri"htenin" hich leads bac! to hat is !non of old and lon"

familiar’#

Gothic noels are full of such uncann' effects – simultaneousl' fri"htenin"* unfamiliar

and 'et also strangel! familiar# past that should be oer and done ith suddenl' erupts ithin the present and

deran"es it#

0o,er an constraint

The Gothic orld is fascinated b' iolent differences in poer* and its stories are full of

constraint* entrapment and forced actions# 5cenes of e%treme threat and isolation –

either ph'sical or ps'cholo"ical – are ala's happenin" or about to happen# 'oun"

oman in dan"er* such as the orphan +mil' 5t ubert in nn Radcliffe’s The Mysteries

of Udolpho (17.4) is often at the centre of Gothic fiction# "ainst such ulnerable

omen are set the "reat criminals or trans"ressors* such as the illainous ontoni inThe Mysteries of Udolpho# 0ursed* obscene or satanic* the' seem able to brea! norms*

las and taboos at ill# Se3ual ifference is thus at the heart of the Gothic* and its plots

are often drien b' the e%ploration of ;uestions of se%ual desire* pleasure* poer and

pain# $t has a freedom that much realistic fiction does not* to spea! about the erotic*

particularl' ille"itimate or transgressive se3ualit!* and is full of samese% desire*

perersion* obsession* o'eurism and se%ual iolence# t times* as in atthe eis’s

The Monk (17.6)* Gothic can come close to porno"raph'#

5 8orl of ;oubt

Gothic is thus a orld of doubt* particularl' doubt about the supernatural and the

spiritual# $t see!s to create in our minds the possibilit' that there ma' be thin"s be'ond



human poer* reason and !noled"e# ut that possibilit' is constantl' accompanied b'

uncertaint'# $n Radcliffe’s or!* een the most terrif'in" thin"s turn out to hae

rational* nonsupernatural e%planations> b' contrast* in eis’s The Monk * 5atan

himself appears# The uncertaint' that "oes ith Gothic is er' characteristic of a orld

in hich orthoo3 religious belief is ,aning> there is both an e%a""erated interest in

the supernatural and the constant possibilit' that een er' astonishin" thin"s ill turnout to be e%plicable# This intellectual doubt is constantl' accompanied b' the most

poerful affects or emotions that the riter can ino!e#



7orace 8alpole %1*1*"1*&*( is doubl' important> he pla'ed a si"nificant role in the

1-thcentur' Gothic reial in architecture and produced the foundin" te%t of Gothic

fiction2

!he "astle of #tranto (1764) drain" upon the authenticatin" deice of the manuscript

found* common in the +i"hteenthcentur' fiction> it purports to be a translation (as the176C title pa"e has it) from the ori"inal $talian of =nuphrio uralto* 0anon of the

0hurch of 5t# ,icholas at =tranto* and the eents related in it are supposed to hae

occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries#

$t as considered b' some as a rather preposterous and melodramatic burles;ue#

second edition as published in 176C* he added a preface admittin" his authorship and

"iin" it the subtitle & Gothic 5tor'’ combinin" a loo! to the past ith stron" claims

for innoation#

He ar"ues in the preface for a recoer' of the amelioratie meanin" of the term> he een

transformed his home* 5traberr' Hill* into a miniature Gothic castle#

His aim as to combine @the to !inds of romance* the ancient and the modernA#$ma"ination and fidelit' to nature a"ainst &strict adherence’ to common domestic life as

seen in the noel# While the noel is said to be an attempt to combine the fantastical

elements ith the naturalistic features* it is the fantastical elements that predominate#

This supernatural element does not appear particularl' belieable or inducin" feelin" of

fear or terror* but the importance for the Gothic is the a' supernatural represents the

past* assertin" its poer in the present#

His character t'pes ere influential as ell2

a heroillain*

his ictimi3ed ife*

the bland hero and

the selfless* passie heroine#

The Gothic does not attempt to create characters ith a ps'cholo"ical depth#

Hoeer* the surface of the characters is used to su""est ho sub:ectiit' is not so

much a matter of inner depths as one of public interpretation#

5upernatural phenomena and inanimate ob:ects are important to su""est fear and

helplessness> the castle has been seen as the primar' prota"onists>

its presence dominates the te%t* creatin" a sense of oppression that emphasi3es the

po,erlessness of the characters to control their o,n lives#

His focus on issues of succession an inheritance ere influential as ell on later

Gothic noel#

5upernatural forces help to restore order and ma!e the plot moe siftl'#

$n its concern ith propert' is not :ust loo!in" bac!ards to the feudal order but also

offerin" a comple% en"a"ement ith the modern aristocratic ideolo"'#

,o one seems particularl' happ' at the end2

the emans of the self and the emans of societ! are shon to be irrevocabl! at

os#



The Castle of Otranto has often been seen as indicatie of Walpole’s reactionar'

nostal"ia* his lon"in" to escape into an ideali3ed past# His Gothic orld as not a mere

retreat from politics* but a place here politics ere transformed into art#

He attempts to create somethin" ne from the past#

He as also responsible for the first "othic drama The Mysterious Mother (176-) neer produced due to the impropriet' of the sub:ect matter2 incest#

William ec!ford’s $athek (17-6) is both mediaeal and =riental and its sub:ect matter

is both erotic and sadistic#



5nn Racliffe (17641-89)

Radcliffe as born the 'ear Walpole published The Castle of Otranto# 5he lied a

reclusie life* ritin" si% ma:or noels in ei"ht 'ears> this use of secrec' as in her art

as ell2 it is one of concealment* &of throin" the narratie into m'ster'’#

The first one* The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne (17-.) uses Walpole’s inheritance plot> it as folloed b' A Sicilian omance (17.K)* here Radcliffe’s character t'pes

and features be"in to come to"ether* includin" the persecution of the heroine b' an older

man* the father fi"ure and the search for an absent mother as a ;uest for identit'#

or much of the 8Kth 0entur'* her reputation remained lo* probabl' due to her use of

the e%plained supernatural* seen as eidence of a conseratie rationalism# This position

has no chan"ed* primaril' due to the or! b' feminist critics in identif'in" an

alternatie tradition of female Gothic* ith its encoded e%pressions of female

e%perience#

!he %ysteries of &dolho %1*&>(

@The first moern thrillerA

+mil' is er' much a persecute maien of the Clarissa pattern – she too is a model of

sensibilit! and propriet'#

$t is the classical e%ample of the "enre and relates an essentiall' simple narratie*

fundamentall' a unitar' stor' structured round the e%perience of a sin"le character#

$t e%plores the relation beteen female madness* passion* and the dan"ers of indul"ed

ima"ination* due to paucit' of omen’s lies# =ne of the mar!s of Radcliffe’s s!ill and

delicac' is that the dan"ers hich threaten the heroine are neer made entirel' clear#

?espite the brilliant use of suspense techni;ues* there are certain problems in the

narratie#

Radcliffe had a disinterest in character and character deelopment* in faour of plot

deelopment# 0han"e occurs not throu"h natural internal processes in the heroine but

throu"h artificial e%ternal fictions#

The noel is an inesti"ation into the prominent 1- thcentur' concept of sensibilit' as

incompatible ith the "eneral fabric of social actiit'#

The author presents a heroine ith a "reat de"ree of susceptibilit' hich continuall'

prostrates her before spectres hich* the reader feels* are of her o,n imagining#5ensibilit' renders her incapable of actie social participation* and sin!s her

dan"erousl' into the orld of her oerstimulated ima"ination# The positie side of

sensibilit' is its isionar' ;ualit'2 +mil'’s isions sho that the stren"th of the sensitie

indiidual is in terms of her inner life* and that sensibilit' encoura"es this to e%pand at

the e%pense of communicatie contact#

The endpoint of these doubts is a !ind of madness* the dislocation of the mind under

pressures that cannot een be cate"ori3ed as internal or e%ternal> hat Radcliffe

demonstrates is that the entire process of sensibilit'* and the adocac' of it as a female

accomplishment* is bound to end in a orld of "hosts and terrors from hich mere

rational e%planation can proide no real salation#



Radcliffe combined Walpole’s features ith the noel of sensibilit'* hich focused on

the proper* tender heroine and emphasi3ed the loe interest# $n all her noels* @a

beautiful and solitary girl is persecuted in pictures!ue surroundings" and" after many

fluctuations of fortune" during #hich she seems again and again on the point of

reaching safety" only to be thrust back into the midst of perils" is restored to her friends

and marries the man of her choiceA (J##5# Tomp!ins)#

Her noels are as much about interrupted courtship as terror#

ore recent critics of Radcliffe hae demurred from the earlier perception of her noels

as an affirmation of the alue of sensibilit'> she ould be pointin" out the angers of

e3cessive sensibilit!# an' of the heroine’s problems and distresses arise from her

acute sensibilit'* particularl' hen it 'ields to ima"ination> she must learn to use reason

to "uide her sensibilit'#

or most contemporar' readers* the charm and much of the ori"inalit' of RadcliffeLs

noel la' in her descriptions of landscape* hich ere influenced b' her faourite painters# 0ontemporar' critics hae su""ested that the scenic descriptions are one of

RadcliffeLs main interests* if not the main interest# RadcliffeLs scener' is often obscure or

perceied throu"h a dim li"ht2 @To the arm ima"ination* the forms hich float half

eiled in dar!ness afford a hi"her deli"ht than the most distinct scener' the sun can

shoA (The Mysteries of Udolpho)#

Radcliffe’s emphasis on moralit' has caused her to be accused of didacticism# $t mi"ht

be precisel' this emphasis hich contributed to her popularit'#

Thus* Radcliffe combined thrillin" content ith irreproachable moralit'#

oreoer* she combines them ith aesthetic considerations in her emphasis on taste#

The +n"lish upper classes "enerall' perceied the rench Reolution as threatenin" the

basis and stabilit' of societ' and endan"erin" their social position and personal safet'#

Radcliffe’s noels* it has been su""ested* alloed them a safe e%pression of an%ieties

about disruption and chaos hile finall' affirmin" conseratie social alues* traditional

moralit'* and the (political) status ;uo#



Terror versus horror

Wh' do readers ta!e such pleasure in Gothic’s descriptions of fri"htenin" and horrible

eents* and mi"ht there be somethin" ron" or immoral in doin" so<

nn Radcliffe as particularl' troubled b' these ;uestions and in tr'in" to anserthem* made an important distinction beteen &terror’ and &horror’# Terror* hich she

thou"ht characteri3ed her on or!* could be morall! uplifting# $t does not sho

horrific thin"s e%plicitl' but onl' su""ests them# This* she thin!s* &e%pands the soul’ of

the readers of her or!s and helps them to be more alert to the possibilit' of thin"s

be'ond their eer'da' life and understandin"#

7orror* b' contrast* Radcliffe ar"ues* &free3es and nearl' annihilates’ the senses of its

readers because it shos atrocious thin"s too e%plicitl'# This is morall' dan"erous and

produces the ron" !ind of e%citement in the reader#

Whereas there mi"ht be the fear or su""estion of the possibilit' of se%ual assault orrape* for e%ample* in a Radcliffe noel* there is e%plicit description of such scenes in

The Monk #

Terror* hich can be morall' "ood* characteri3es the former> horror* hich is morall'

bad* the latter#

Terror for Radcliffe is concerned ith the ps'cholo"ical e%perience of bein" full of fear

and dread and thus of reco"ni3in" human limits>

horror b' contrast focuses on the horrific ob:ect or eent itself* ith essentiall'

dama"in" or limitin" conse;uences for the reader’s state of mind#



8illiam Go,in’s "aleb Williams (17.4)

is often considered part of the Gothic tradition#

Remember that Godin’s $n!uiry Concerning %olitical &ustice (17.9) as one of the

most influential boo!s of the period#Caleb as ritten as a fictional release for the same ideas Godin had deeloped in

%olitical &ustice# He lar"el' rote them simultaneousl'#

0aleb reinforces the idea that people are endoed ith innate "oodness* hich is

frustrated and distorted b' the interference of the las* pre:udices and conentions of

societ'#

ran!enstein’s monster closel' reflects these ideas#

Williams is an outcast* re:ected and hated b' a societ' he !nos to be morall' ron"

and corrupt#

He is a lonel' indiidual utterl' at the merc' of outside forces#

To be"in ith Williams is in effect the hunter and al!land his ictim* as Williams tries

to orm his secret out of him#

Then the situation is reersed* and Williams becomes his ictim’s ictim#

This of course is closel' paralleled in the relationship beteen Dictor and the 0reature

in 'rankenstein#

Gothic characteristics include2

a hei"htened sense of rea*

themes of persecution* incarceration and e%cessie irrational violence* and

its depiction of deep* broodin" paranoia#



Matthe, $e,is %1**."1?1?(

is ell !non for hain" ritten !he %onk * his onl' noel* in a short space of time

hen he as tent'* hile embar!in" on a political and diplomatical career that he as

to abandon later#

He became a prominent literar' fi"ure also because of the pla's he rote or translatedfrom the German#

ost of them are ritten in the Gothic ein* for instance Alfonso" (ing of Castile

(1-K1)#

He as interested in the or! of German terror noelists#

His or! can loo! to the contemporar' reader e%tremel' crude* to the point of seemin"

li!e a parod' of common assumptions about Gothic machiner' and characteri3ation#

His or! has rapidit'* a poer of immediate en"a"ement easil' seen* especiall' if

compared ith the ele"ant dela's of Radcliffe#

His or! as trans"ressie* ith descriptions of se%ual actiit' and iolence* ith a

freshness "ien b' the resistance to e%ternall' imposed rules and re"ulations> these points are mentioned in contemporar' reies#

ables of t'rann'* incarceration and liberation hae been seen as metaphors for more

literal restrictions and imprisonments and his pla's hae been considered as concerned

ith a uniersal call for freedom* althou"h eis neer intended them to be so#

eis famousl' isited the Dilla ?iodati hen ar' 5helle' as to months into

ritin" 'rankenstein* thou"h the' did not actuall' meet#

ar' had read The Monk * hoeer* and eis in person impressed /erc' 'ssche#

central topic of conersation as slaer'#

eis’s ealth had been deried from slae plantations but he as ell!non for

hain" treated his slaes "enerousl' and he had stron" ies on the sub:ect of slaer'#

Dictor ran!enstein’s sin is that he effectiel' ants to create a human ho belon"s to

him* a slae#

!he %onk (17.6)

mbrosio* the central character of The Monk * is deried from Radcliffe’s ontoni#

$n the process* hoeer* the character underent profound chan"es#

eis’s mbrosio* the seemin"l' nearsaintl' 5uperior of the 0apuchins of adrid* isin fact a slae to secret se3ual esires* the repression of hich is itself a perersion#

Thou"h The on! is not "reat literature it as the first boo! to use the Gothic mode –

ith its under"round dun"eons* cells and tombs – as a metaphor for the descent into the

most primitive epths of the subconscious#

The Monk banned upon its ori"inal publication* rapidl' became ac!noled"ed as the

most scandalous of earl' Gothic noels due to the e%plicitness of its iolent and

especiall' its se%ual scenes# 5tron"l' influenced b' earlier German terror noels* it

lac!s their e%plicit inolement ith the politicall' radical content of those# The noel

also loo!s bac! on 5ha!espeare and ilton# an' other elements of le"ends areinteroen ithin the noel2 the Wanderin" Je* austusM



The use of to stories (mbrosioatildantonia> Ra'mond"nes)* to plots* "ies

him scope for a series of dramatic alterations hich "ie the boo! a stead' pace and

ener"' completel' different from preious "othic noels#

The presence of the supernatural is here &natural’> eis ma!es no e%cuses for it#

5ometimes the supernatural seems secondar' to the human stor' here the author e%poses the horrors forced upon the people of 5pain (and elsehere) b' the 0hurch and

its minions# $t is filled ith reminders of hat can so easil' "o ron" if religious

funamentalism is "ien the chance to rei"n supreme* here choices are ta!en from

indiiduals and instead "ien to ri"id institutions#

The sufferin"s of the heroines are situated a"ainst a bac!"round of le"end that Radcliffe

mi"ht hae found sensationalist but* that intensifies the heroines’ pli"ht# ut ith an

almost naturalistic st'le* eis ma!es that &sensationalist’ le"endar' bac!"round

appears oppressiel' conincin"# We are not as!ed to beliee* e are as!ed to see#

$n spite of its crudeness* The Monk is a er' reflectie boo! and deli"hts incomplications of narratie# The reader must moe ithin a series of stories* and stories

ithin the stories# 5ome stories are told and retold* usin" different tones and forcin" the

reader to "et inoled in a constructed orld of selfalidatin" fictions hich are

te%turall' &more real’ than realit' itself#

' contrast ith the closed priacies of preious Gothic noels* the social orld of the

noel (adrid) is a ide and "eneral one* here the public ramifications of personal

tra"ed' and crod scenes are emphasi3ed> the characters’ fates are a si"n of social

decadence and h'pocris'#

The boo! is full of ps'cholo"ical contrasts* not related to the erisimilitude of the

portra'al of particular characters* but created to enhance the "eneral sense of

precariousness eis ishes to encoura"e to challen"e the audience# ,othin" is hat it

seems#

eis’ st'le in The Monk is constructed around short* almost surreal* dramatic scenes#

He ants the reader to be impressionable* spectatorial* and open to sudden doubt about

if the eents and characters portra'ed sho or not repressed aspects of their on mind#

He ants the reader to see priate faults mercilessl' e%posed and to moc! their

confused reactions#



'orthanger Abbey@ Mock"GothicA

usten’s noel as read' for publication in 1-K9 but onl' published in 1-1-#

0atherine orland* on her first trip aa' from home* is so full of her Gothic readin"

that she interprets life at ,orthan"er bbe' in Gothic terms* onl' to be seriousl'embarrassed later b' the discrepanc' beteen her Gothic ima"inin"s and realit'#

$nterestin"l'* hile man' of the characters hae read Walpole and Radcliffe* onl' the

least admirable* John Thorpe* claims to hae read The Monk #

)orthanger Abbey is often interpreted as a parod' of Radcliffean romance#

$n fact* it is a more audacious and unafraid Gothic noel than an' of its predecessors*

shoin" that the factitious4 suppositions of +mil' are not half as dis;uietin" as the

ail! perils of common social life* and that fact is stran"er than the most lurid fiction#

nother satire of the Gothic* Thomas oe /eacoc!’s Headlong Hall as ritten in1-16#

The fact that to (supposed) parodies of the Gothic conentions ere published :ust

before 'rankenstein su""ests that the "enre* once so popular that it dominated the noel

mar!et* as losin" credibilit'#

-rankenstein@ 5 Gothic ovelA

5helle'’s noel contains no deca'in" monaster'* no decadent mon!s* "hosts* headless

nuns or terrif'in" bri"ands> castles are mentioned as thou"h features in a traelo"ue

rather than serin" as a settin" for supernatural eents#

ll the conentional Gothic trappin"s hae disappeared#

5cience has replaced ma"ic#

Hoeer* ran!enstein is a noel about e3cess and transgression and in this it can be

seen as part of the Gothic tradition#

Charles Robert Maturin (17-K1-84)

as an ordained minister ho turned to ritin" to support his famil'# rom his first

noel* 'atal e*enge+ or" The 'amily of Montorio (1-K7)* he introduced the primar'themes that ere "oin" to dominate his later or!2 "uilt* reen"e and reli"ious

persecution and fanaticism#

$n it he anticipates the t'pe he ill deelop in his most famous noel2 the Gothic tale of

an outcast ho sells his soul to the deil to the deil in return for !noled"e and poer#

The Gothic reen"e melodrama Bertram+ or" The Castle of St Aldobrand (1-16)* first

sta"ed at ?rur' ane* as attac!ed because of its apparent celebration of emotional

e%tremes and subersion of moral and social authorit'#

4 factitious – artificiall' created



%elmoth the Wanderer (1-8K)

elmoth is an amal"am of 0ain* the Wanderin" Je* ilton’s 5atan* aust* the ncient

ariner and the 'ronic hero# He is a poerful creation#

Melmoth as a er' influential boo! in its on time and later2 al3ac* audelaire* /oeor 5teenson ere amon" those ho admired the boo!#

The title* and the Wanderer* reminds us of the m'th of the Wanderin" Je* a stor' ith

hich most "othic noel readers ere familiar# The boo! has a comple% and difficult

narratie structure#

The hi"hl'or"ani3ed structure sustains a rococo decoration and coers centuries of

familiar stories* adentures* spells hich become both thic! (some minor stories seem

tedious) and fast# These stories are all coloured ith horror and death#

The Wanderer appears in all the stories as a fi"ure of superhuman poers that appears at

the moments of despair* offerin" freedom in e%chan"e for souls# The Wanderer needs

someone to ta!e his place to aoid infernal flames#

Reli"ion is probabl' the most important theme in the noel and the noel is probabl'

the most concerned ith religion amon" the ones commented here# To elmoth* all

reli"ions are e;uall' delusor' in their promises of beneficence and salation> the onl'

realit' of reli"ion is diine en"eance#

aturin* as a protestant cler"'man* as clearl' against Catholicism and his or!s* but

his characters are someho iolent hen statin" their points of ie on the falsit' of

reli"ious belief and it seems as if aturin as e%ceedin" the attac! on 0atholicism and

aimin" at the edifice of reli"ion or at his on head#

5entiment* intense feelin"* essentiall' antit'rannical in both the theolo"ical and

political spheres* oerhelm an' attempt at fine doctrinal discrimination# The

parado%ical and comple% nature of emotional states is described* especiall' those states

of e%treme terror and despair* amon" hich he includes insanit' or the fear of insanit'#

elmoth’s death does not pur"e the orld (li!e mbrosio’s in eis’ The Monk )

because these characters are not a principal of eil but rather a"ents and a product of

perennial eil of others# elmoth is actuall' poerless> the real horror of the orld

"oes on ithout his a"enc'> he merel' e%ults in it#

?reamli!estate e%periences are present in the boo! and &dream’ and &anderin"’ are

identified ith prehistoric impulses that haunt ciili3ed man!ind#This is the orld presented b' aturin in Melmoth the ,anderer * a orld in hich

sufferin" is not proportional to "uilt* here ciili3ed behaiour cannot preent the

brea!in" out of forces hich haunt the mind of the indiidual and the mind of culture#



The <nfluence of the arl! nglish Gothic

Hoeer naNel' and crudel'* Gothic prose tried out methods of dealin" ith a ran"e of

human e%perience that had not been rendered in fiction before#

$ts mediaeal castles and under"round passa"es ere metaphorical "ropin"s toards ane%ploration of the unconscious and subconscious mind* and represented in

conse;uence the possibilities of an e%tension of realism#

5imilarl'* the arious Gothic supernatural manifestations represented a first step

toards encompassin" the irrational and surreal#

$n other ords* the elements hich the Gothic riters introduced ere one hich the

+n"lish noel neee* and hich ould be e%ploited and consolidated b' riters of

"enius

Thou"h the Gothic "e ended ith elmoth* Gothic romance had a "reat influence on

ritish literature of the rest of the 1.th 0entur' (our area of interestC)#

efore lon" +mil' rontO in ,uthering -eights (1-47) and 0harles ?ic!ens in a hole

series of noels from Oli*er T#ist (1-97-) onards* ere to sho ho een the most

obious and ne"atie Gothic stereot'pes could be incorporated into a comprehensie

poetic ision#

The lateDictorian Gothic (5teenson* 5to!er* Wilde and 0onan ?o'le) obiousl' built

on their 1-thcentur' predecessors’ or!#

,otice that r Rochester (in &ane $yre) has an element of the Gothic illain (as ell as

of the 'ronic hero)#

The ?u!e in ronin"’s My .ast Duchess can also be seen as a Gothic illain#

C obiousl'* it had a hu"e influence on merican Gothic (/oe)* 5outhern Gothic (aul!ner) and 8K thcentur' cinema – but e’re not interested in those thin"s here

gothic fantasy

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