Since immemorial, children have symbolised hope, purity, innocence, and vulnerability. The Gothic tradition, however, views this portrayal through a darker lens. In Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw and Roman Polanski’s 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby, children become agents of suspense and terror, bringing into question the notion of innocence. In these narratives, children represent humanity at its most vulnerable, embodying both purity and potential malevolence. Representing the future and new life, children are an emblem of hope, but in the context of the horror genre, they become a canvas for the exploration of the darker side of humanity and its current issues. Gothic literature often reflects the anxieties of the time as a means of …show more content…
With the disruption of society comes the disruption of the traditional family unit. Whether through the endangering of children or presenting them as a danger themselves, the Gothic genre has a long history of exploring parental anxieties. Rosemary’s Baby is a striking early exploration of motherhood. Rosemary and Guy are the Platonic ideal of parents-to-be – loving and passionate, virtuous and moral, but their relocation to the Bramford marks the beginning of their corruption. Guy quickly falls prey to the Castavets’ influence; thus, Rosemary is left to face the blurring emotions of hormones, paranoia and deception on her own. Even in the face of demonic rape, mass conspiracy and psychological isolation, she fears only for her baby’s safety. As film scholar Tony Williams describes, Rosemary and Guy unwittingly ‘become Joseph and Mary in a new satanic order inversely paralleling the Christian Messiah’s birth’ (Williams 99). There can be no exorcism, no liberation, no reclamation of agency; Rosemary’s desire to be a mother has been fulfilled, and she cannot reject the Church’s pleas for her to ‘be a real mother to Adrian’, Antichrist or not
Gothic literature, such as The Night Circus, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment”, and “Masque of the Red Death”, are known for incorporating gothic elements such as the supernatural, death, and fascination with the past.
Gothic Literature is a style of writing that Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe excelled at. This type of writing showcased elements of fear, mystery, and horrifying events that were meant to leave you with chills. And of course, to express death. These two authors knew what they were doing when it came to conveying all those elements. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing represents the mysterious side of Gothic literature and incorporates some fear. Within the story of “The
Written in 1818, the latter stages of the Gothic literature movement, at face value this novel embodies all the key characteristics of the Gothic genre. It features the supernatural, ghosts and an atmosphere of horror and mystery. However a closer reading of the novel presents a multifaceted tale that explores
A predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that of child-rearing and/or parenting techniques. Specifically, the novel presents a theory concerning the negative impact on children from the absence of nurturing and motherly love. To demonstrate this theory, Shelly focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s experimenting with nature, which results in the life of his creature, or “child”. Because Frankenstein is displeased with the appearance of his offspring, he abandons him and disclaims all of his “parental” responsibility. Frankenstein’s poor “mothering” and abandonment of his “child” leads to the creation’s inevitable evilness. Victor was not predestined to failure, nor was his creation innately depraved. Rather, it was Victor’s poor “parenting” of his progeny that lead to his creation’s thirst for vindication of his unjust life, in turn leading to the ruin of Victor’s life.
Punter David, ‘The Literature of Terror’, in A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day, The Modern Gothic. Harlow, eds. (UK: Pearson Education, 1996)
Gothic Horror utilizes iconography of shadows, ghosts and other supernatural creatures to not only thrill, but also to intrigue with ideas of the unknown. One of the very first successful science fiction novels of supernatural terror, Frankenstein by Marry Shelley is an exemplary case of Gothic representation in both nineteenth century British Literature and modern day film. Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 film Black Swan draws upon a deluge of Frankenstein’s themes and motifs to truly depict the emotional aspect of Gothic Horror. Through including Gothic themes of: nature-versus-nurture, isolation, and the supernatural, Aronofsky is able to present Gothic Horror in modern day without the need of a 19th century haunted castles, ghosts, or vampires.
Children are common group of people who are generally mislabeled by society. In the short story “Charles’’ by Shirley Jackson and ‘’The Open Window” by Saki showed examples of the labeling of children. In “Charles” the concept of parents labeling their children as being pure and sincere was shown. As in “The Open Window” by Saki “used the notion that girls were the most truthful sex and gives her a name that suggests truthfulness to make her tale less suspect.”(Wilson 178). According to Welsh “Because the fantasy is so bizarre and inventive and totally unexpected from a fifteen-year-old girl, the reader is momentarily duped.”(03). This showed that even we as the readers were a victim of misleading labels of society.
One of the powerful images conjured up by the words ‘gothic novel’ is that of a shadowy form rising from a mysterious place, Frankenstein’s monster rising from a laboratory table, Dracula creeping from his coffin, or, more generally, the slow opening of a crypt to reveal a dark and obscure figure, which all share in common the concept of Social Ostracisation both to the creator and creature. Gothic writing can be dated back for centuries, Shelly immediately comes to mind with Frankenstein as well as The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis and Dracula by Bram Stoker all can be associated with Social Ostracisation. The concept of alienating one to refuge, dismissal, and pain are all themes in these novels.
In today’s literature there are many types of genres that people find fascinating, all the way from fantasy to non-fiction. A very interesting genre is Gothic Fiction, where many elements are used to such as violence, ghosts, monsters and many other dark and mystical elements that make up Gothic Fiction. There are many great authors who are well known for their dark gothic style such as Edgar Poe, who has written the short story “Fall of the House of Usher” and the “Black Cat,” or Horacio Quiroga who has written “Feather Pillow” and a more recent author, Ransom Riggs who has written Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. These three author’s stories all have gothic elements, such as psychological issues, death and fear that parallel one other which shows a common trend between gothic literatures.
Frankenstein: A Child’s Tale by Marshall Brown closely examines Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Brown discusses the plots and supernatural characteristics, touches on issues related to the idea of monsters, and analyses the novel in correlation to Mary Shelley’s life as a child. Despite the many people trying to discern a specific meaning from Frankenstein, Brown stresses that it will not, “settle into any composed pattern of either individual or group meanings. its turbulent energies overwhelm any ideology we may discern in it,” (1). The novel is unpredictable and it means many things to many different individuals.
The definition of the Horror genre differs completely to the Gothic genre. This idea of how the Gothic novel transformed from various architectures based around impending castles and morality tales, to the idea of monsters, fear, and repugnance. Therefore, it is interesting to notice the change from how the genre has developed from arguably the 17th century to the 20th century, where vampires, werewolf’s, and other monsters are very popular with teen audiences especially.
The blending of terror and romance in Gothic Literature was used in a unique combination to attract and entice the reader into the story. The terror in the literature helps the reader explore their imagination and form their own picture setting of what is happening. Using romance in the story also keeps the reader's attention because of the unknown and the curiosity of what happens next. The Gothic writing became popular after the Romantic period because readers were still a...
The term ‘Gothic’ conjures a range of possible meanings, definitions and associations. It explicitly denotes certain historical and cultural phenomena. Gothicism was part of the Romantic Movement that started in the eighteenth century and lasted about three decades into the nineteenth century. For this essay, the definition of Gothic that is applicable is: An 18th century literary style characterized by gloom and the supernatural. In the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a wide range of issues are explored. Frankenstein represents an entirely new vision of the female Gothic, along with many other traditional themes such as religion, science, colonialism and myth.
‘Some idea of a child or childhood motivates writers and determines both the form and content of what they write.’ -- Hunt The above statement is incomplete, as Hunt not only states that the writer has an idea of a child but in the concluding part, he states that the reader also has their own assumptions and perceptions of a child and childhood. Therefore, in order to consider Hunt’s statement, this essay will look at the different ideologies surrounding the concept of a child and childhood, the form and content in which writers inform the reader about their ideas of childhood concluding with what the selected set books state about childhood in particular gender. The set books used are Voices In The Park by Browne, Mortal Engines by Reeve and Little Women by Alcott to illustrate different formats, authorial craft and concepts about childhood. For clarity, the page numbers used in Voices In The Park are ordinal (1-30) starting at Voice 1.
Edgar Allen Poe was an English short-story writer whose work reflects the traditional Gothic conventions of the time that subverted the ambivalence of the grotesque and arabesque. Through thematic conventions of the Gothic genre, literary devices and his own auteur, Edgar Allan Poe’s texts are considered sublime examples of Gothic fiction. The Gothic genre within Poe’s work such as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, and The Raven, arouse the pervasive nature of the dark side of individualism and the resulting encroachment of insanity. Gothic tales are dominated by fear and terror and explore the themes of death and decay. The Gothic crosses boundaries into the realm of the unknown, arousing extremes of emotion through the catalyst of disassociation and subversion of presence. Gothic literature utilises themes of the supernatural to create a brooding setting and an atmosphere of fear.