Aside from the five themes of Democracy, Gender, Culture, Empire and Industrialization, the sixth theme, Victorian Gothic, provides just as much of an overview of the Victorian time period. This new theme appears in Elizabeth Gaskell’s short story, The Old Nurse’s Story and Christina Rossetti's poem Goblin Market. Both works illustrate common elements of Gothic literature, such as; old houses, mystery, horror, ghost, fantasy creatures, the unknown and oppression. Both author’s background stories provide insight to their reason behind their writings. Elizabeth Gaskell was a minister's wife that began to write when her only son died to cope with her depression. She wrote to “critique society and promote social reform” (Norton 1260). Christina Rossetii was a Victorian author that was strictly involved with the Catholic Church and had a high moral code. Her code was so strict she never married again and lived a quiet life. This paper argues that The Old Nurse’s Story and the Goblin Market provide important representation of Victorian Gothic literature by utilizing Gothic themes.
The Gothic addresses the fact that we cannot fend off the irrationality of our minds. Gothic literature departs from the traditional nature of the world to explore the unknown. There are six literary and culture elements of Gothic Fiction that include; castles, Catholicism, sexual oppression, wilderness, the supernatural, and the grotesque. The Victorians were known for their prudish ways, strict prudish moral code, imperial empire, gender roles, and technological advances and scientific discoveries. These attributes provide grounds for Gothic literature to flourish. Elizabeth Gaskell and Christina Rossetti's used some of gothic elements such as; the superna...
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...hold their moral values and emphasis the importance of sisterly love.
Victorian Gothic was a literary genre that went against the social norm. Gaskell’s loss of her child prompted her to write stories such as The Old Nurse Story, and she used haunted houses and oppressed women and children to not only bring dark terror to the audience but shine light on social issues that were arising in the Victorian era. Rossetti’s religious background inspired her to allude to temptation and fruits from the Bible and comment of the oppression of female sexuality in the Victorian period. The Victorian Gothics not only horrify and disturb the reader but speak out on social injustices such as the gender role.
Works Cited
Christ, Carol T., Catherine Robson, Stephen Greenblatt, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.
Gothic Literature was a natural progression from romanticism, which had existed in the 18th Century. Initially, such a ‘unique’ style of literature was met with a somewhat mixed response; although it was greeted with enthusiasm from members of the public, literary critics were much more dubious and sceptical.
Romantic literature, as Kathy Prendergast further claims, highlighted things like splendor, greatness, vividness, expressiveness, intense feelings of passion, and stunning beauty. The Romantic literary genre favored “parts” over “whole” and “content” over “form”. The writer argues that though both the Romantic literary genre and the Gothic art mode were medieval in nature, they came to clash with what was called classical conventions. That’s why, preoccupations with such things as the supernatural, the awful, the dreadful, the repulsive and the grotesque were the exclusive focus of the nineteenth century Gothic novel. While some critics perceived the Gothic as a sub-genre of Romanticism, some others saw it as a genre in its own right (Prendergast).
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
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
Bram Stoker and Sheridan Le Fanu’s texts, Dracula (1898) and “Carmilla” (1872), use gothic tropes in similar ways to captivate readers with horror and terror. This essay will illustrate how, in comparison, both texts include gothic tropes: the New Woman, sexuality and setting, in order to provoke emotions and reactions from the readers. To achieve this, this essay will focus on the women that challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes, and deconstruct each text in regards to the very strong undertones of homosexuality; specifically between Carmilla and Laura, and Dracula and Harker. By discussing the harshness and darkness of the environments described, including ruined castles and isolated landscapes; this essay will also explore the
Word by word, gothic literature is bound to be an immaculate read. Examining this genre for what it is could be essential to understanding it. “Gothic” is relating to the extinct East Germanic language, people of which known as the Goths. “Literature” is defined as a written work, usually with lasting “artistic merit.” Together, gothic literature combines the use of horror, death, and sometimes romance. Edgar Allan Poe, often honored with being called the king of horror and gothic poetry, published “The Fall of House Usher” in September of 1839. This story, along with many other works produced by Poe, is a classic in gothic literature. In paragraph nine in this story, one of our main characters by the name of Roderick Usher,
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
In conclusion to this essay, having examined these 19th century gothic texts, it is fair to say that normative gender behaviour and sexuality pervades them. This element gives the reader a deep insight into the culture context of the time in which these stories are situated. It enables the reader to delve into the darker sides of humanity at that time, that they would not have been able to do otherwise.
The Victorian Gothic era holds great interest to me, due to the horrific imagery conveyed in texts such as Poe’s ‘The Raven’ or Stevenson’s ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ as it’s interesting to compare this to the atmosphere projected in contemporary novels like Banks ‘The Wasp Factory’. This may explain my enthusiasm for thriller pieces as I find them to be the most rewarding if you can evoke a genuine feeling of suspense in the reader. I do find it hard to limit myself to one genre as I enjoy a wide selection of literature ranging from playwrights such as Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare, to the poetry of Larkin and Rossetti. These varied mediums have intrigued me into widening my understanding of English, as I’m enthusiastic to share ideas with other
This essay has recognised the way in which Bronte's romantic Gothic novel Jane Eyre portrays the supernatural, paranormal happenings and imagery throughout the story. It is important to recognise that her portrayal of Jane as a passionate woman with a strength of feeling which matched that of a man would have been seen as shocking and abnormal to Victorian sensitivity. Whilst Charles Dickens was able to paint a picture of blank facades which hid unsuspecting depths within, it would have been a revelation to Victorian readers to delve into the female psyche and its supernatural representations. (Branflinger and Thesing, 309) Thus Bronte created a masterpiece which has stood the test of time being relevant to the nature and supernatural of the modern world.
Victorian literature is a representation of society at the time. These Victorian authors have expressed their concerns with the dangers of the restrictions of society and the effect it has on women. Both “The Yellow Wallpaper and Wuthering Heights show the repression of women, the dependency on men, but also the resistance to a patriarchal society and its norms.
The term ‘Gothic’ is highly amorphous and open to diverse interpretations; it is suggestive of an uncanny atmosphere of wilderness gloom and horror based on the supernatural. The weird and eerie atmosphere of the Gothic fiction was derived from the Gothic architecture: castles, cathedrals, forts and monasteries with labyrinths of dark corridors, cellars and tunnels which evoked the feelings of horror, wildness, suspense and gloom.
Christina Rossetti tackles multiple taboos of the Victorian era in her poem “The Goblin Market”. Introducing a sense of supply and demand with the physical body as a form of commerce. With a demon infested marketplace setting Rossetti tests her characters Lizzie and Laura sense of worth when it comes down to a tempestuous trade the goblin market men. Like any other Victorian maiden they cherish their virtue and value their religion. Struggling to fight the human urges of desire and sexuality to uphold a holy lifestyle and refrain from allowing their bodies to become nothing more than any other commodity at the market.
113- The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. of the book. Vol.
Although it might seem that Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market, supports the theme of sisterly love and relationships, in fact, a careful study of Laura’s unhealthy appetite and forceful temptations uncovers the bitter controversy over the roles of women that took place during the Victorian times, when women were often symbolized as pure and treated like domestic commodities.