Examples Of Decay In The Hound Of The Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles, a novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, gives off the feeling of eeriness and spookiness. These characteristics fit into many different types of writing. But, Gothic literature is a prime genre for this novel because of the atmosphere of decay; the mysterious, sin, crime, guilt, and secrets of the novel; and, lastly, the woman with a threatening atmosphere. All of these points refer to The Hound of the Baskervilles as one example of Gothic literature.

The first example of Gothic literature is the atmosphere of decay. Not too far from the moor is a prison, which a convict seems to have escaped from. This adds even more creepiness to the already spooky moor. Then, there is the Grimpen Mire, which lays north of

Baskerville Hall. Mr. Stapleton explains that “a false step yonder means death to man or beast” (Doyle 93). Many ponies wander into the Grimpen Mire, but never return from their journey. To add even more to the atmosphere of decay, is the moor at night.

The legend of the Baskervilles gives many people fear about walking the moor at night. The is when the powers of evil are exalted. All of these three example, the prison, Grimpen Mire, and the moor at night, all give off an atmosphere of decay.

In addition to the atmosphere of decay, is the aura of mystery, sin, crime, guilt, and secrets within the whole novel. Firstly, is the mystery of the infamous hound. This all originates around Hugo Baskerville. He is supposedly killed by a demon hound late at night on the moor chasing after a woman. Ever since then, there has been suspicion surround the moor. So, when Sir Charles is killed, there is reason to believe this mysterious hound is behind it. Next, is the sin of the escaped convict. Since there is a prison nearby, an escaped convict is not too surprising. This convict is named the Notting Hill murderer. Sherlock Holmes himself even once worked on this case some. Then, we have the crime of Sir Charles Baskerville. As the baronet of the Baskerville Hall, he, of course, knows of this legend this legend that surrounds his family line. Already with a weak heart, Sir Charles dies from fright from an unknown source, who we later find out is Mr. Stapleton and his

lovely dog. After that, there is the guilt of Mrs. Laura Lyons. Not having a good background, she wants to get out of her marriage. So, Mr. Stapleton told her he would wed her. Laura Lyons blindly follows him in order to get out of her relationship. She has no idea that when Mr. Stapleton tells her to call off the meeting she has with Sir Charles that she would be leading him to his death. If she would have known the true Mr. Stapleton, she would never have agreed to it in the first place. Last, but not least, happens to be the secrets of Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore. When Mr. Barrymore gets up and walks around at night, he’s giving signals to an anonymous person. Dr. Watson and Sir Henry immediately set out to find out what the Barrymore family is hiding. It turns out that the anonymous person is the escaped convict, who also happens to be the brother of Mrs. Barrymore. They’re giving him food every night because Mrs. Barrymore just could not let her brother face his true consequence of his murders.With all of these points in mind, the mystery of the hound, the sin of the escaped convict, the crime of Sir Charles, the guilt of Laura Lyons, and the secrets of Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore, anyone can observe that these all relate to Gothic literature.
At last, the final element of this novel is the woman with a threatening atmosphere. First off is Mrs. Stapleton. Mr. Stapleton, her husband, manipulates her and takes advantage of her the entire novel. He lets her believe that he still loves and cares for her, but he only uses her for his own good. Next is Laura Lyons. Her father, Mr. Frankland, disowns her after finding out she married without his permission. This leads to the next example, which is the fact that Laura Lyons’ husband abandons her. She has terrible luck considering the fact that the only two men in her life ends up abandoning her as if she is worthless. All of these factors, Mrs. Stapleton, Laura Lyons’ father disowning her, and her her husband abandoning her, all relates back to the point of woman with a threatening atmosphere.
In conclusion, the atmosphere of decay; the mystery, sin, crime, guilt, and secrets; and, lastly, the woman with a threatening atmosphere, all point back to one specific thing about Hound of the Baskervilles. The fact that it is a prime example for Gothic literature. It has a certain characteristic throughout the novel that helps prove that these examples are what make it Gothic literature. Its eeriness and spookiness help us relate it to this specific genre and type of writing genre.