Modern Writers Writing in Gothic Tradition; Surfacing Transgression of Boundaries Via Gothic Elements in Angela Carter’s The Magic Toyshop & Fay Weldon’s The Bvlgari Connection Gothic as a literary term, most often brings to mind a type of novel – as well as a group of writers for a long time considered marginal - written between the second half of the eighteenth century and first half of the nineteenth. The contemporary use of the term Gothic retains an even larger number of meanings today. Expanding from architecture and the media, the term makes its way to many artistic contexts as well. Though Gothic has been known to deeply manifest itself in horror context, whether dealing with themes reminding us of the of 18th century Gothic fiction, or with the modern psychic horrors reflecting the fears and tensions of our contemporary world, what it functions mainly is to underline and bind two very different characteristics: the boundary between good and evil are drawn up early in such texts creating a basic binary opposition, only to put forth the idea of these boundaries always not being clearly defined. It can be thus said that Gothic literature concerns with boundaries and later formed transgressions by them. According to David Punter, Gothic writers […] bring us up against the boundaries of the civilized […], demonstrate the relative nature of ethical and behavioral codes,[…] place, over against the conventional world, a different sphere in which these codes operate at best in distorted forms (11). In short, while remaining in the conventional world itself, a thorough look across the boundaries is enabled into a world of the uncivilized where the ethical and behavioral codes of society are controlled by nature; distorte... ... middle of paper ... ...wing to question not only psychological boundaries leading to paranoia in a character, Gothic fiction also deals with an existing patriarchal structure. With helping to broaden the boundaries of judgments, it also provides a new and modified model of societal taboos. Conclusively, by following a traditional Gothic pattern in their novels, both Angela Carter and Fay Weldon challenge traditional conventions of modern times and help guide one to transgress formally set boundaries. In order to “transform narrative and cultural understandings”, it is said that Carter retells stories instead of telling them for it seems that “it is only “through the revoking of these cultural understandings” that transgressions must take place. It is a fact that Carter has achieved this in her novel The Magic Toyshop as much as Weldon has achieved this point in her The Bulgari Connection.
While literature often follows some pattern and can be predictable, it is often evolving and can change in an instant depending on the author. In most Gothic literature, a derivative of Romanticism, there is a gothic space in the work – a limited space in which anything can happen in contrast to the normal world in the work. In addition, normally, order is restored at the end of Gothic literature – the good is rewarded and the bad is punished. In his Gothic novella, The Terrible Vengeance (1981), Nicolai Gogol decided to expand the ‘normal’ idea of Gothic literature by, in the work, transforming the traditional Gothic space to encompass anything and everything; in addition to the use of space, through the ending in which there is no reward, Gogol conveyed the idea that evil is prevalent everywhere and in everyone.
Gothic writing is a style of literature that relies upon the evocation of moods, feelings and imagery for impact. This style of writing was developed during an age of great scientific discovery – such literature marked a reaction against the prevailing ‘Age of Enlightenment’. Many Gothic authors opposed the new-found faith and enthusiasm placed in these discoveries, believing that they restricted freedom of imagination. Consequently, Gothic writers inhabited areas where no answers are provided – exploiting people’s fears and offering answers that are in stark contrast to the otherwise scientific explanations.
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.
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
Various authors develop their stories using gothic themes and characterizations of this type to lay the foundation for their desired reader response. Although Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Peter Taylor’s “Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time” are two completely different narratives, both of these stories share a commonality of gothic text representations. The stories take slightly different paths, with Poe’s signifying traditional gothic literature and Taylor approaching his story in a more contemporary manner.
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.
Now we have examined three stories written by two well distinguished authors known for their Southern Gothic Literature and found many similarities in each story. Each story has its form of the grotesque we have Miss Emily, the Misfit, the Grandmother, and Marley Pointer and let’s not leave out Helga. The characters of each story has some form of cringe inducing quality, meaning some kind of attitude about themselves that gets under ones skin. Then as we can see from the stories they all are Southern based each story is in a Southern setting. And the final thing we look for in Southern Gothic literature is tragedy which all three stories possessed.
"Gothic Literature." : What Is Gothic Literature? N.p., 11 July 2007. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. .
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.
Gothic literature was developed during the eighteenth and nineteenth century of the Gothic era when war and controversy was too common. It received its name after the Gothic architecture that was becoming a popular trend in the construction of buildings. As the buildings of daunting castles and labyrinths began, so did the beginning foundation of Gothic literature. The construction of these buildings will later become an obsession with Gothic authors. For about 300 years before the Renaissance period, the construction of these castles and labyrinths continued, not only in England, but also in Gothic stories (Landau 2014). Many wars and controversies, such as the Industrial Revolution and Revolutionary War, were happening at this time, causing the Gothic literature to thrive (“Gothic Literature” 2011). People were looking for an escape from the real world and the thrill that Gothic literature offered was exactly what they needed. Gothic literature focuses on the horrors and the dark sides to the human brain, such as in Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein. Gothic literature today, as well as in the past, has been able to separate itself apart from other types of literature with its unique literary devices used to create fear and terror within the reader.
Gothicism has been a very popular genre of book, through past and present, and Bram Stoker’s, Dracula, is no exception. One of the most widely read novels of all time, Dracula possesses all the features of a classic gothic novel. The various dark and dreary features throughout the entire novel paints a perfect gothic picture for the reader and contribute to the mixture of feelings One gets while reading Dracula. The first feature of Gothicism found in Dracula is a constant and oppressive darkness. This feature is a reoccurring theme that is related to everything in the novel from the characters to the events that take place. Another feature found in Dracula is presence of a ‘supernatural’ villain. Supernaturalism also surrounds the villain, Count Dracula in the countryside of Transylvania with the numerous superstitions that consume the local inhabitants. Finally, the reference to sleeping, dreaming and the blurriness of reality faced by some of the characters adds eeriness and unrest, enhancing the gothic premise of the novel. These examples are all traits of which gothic literature consists of. Through this paper, I will prove that due to the use of darkness, the supernatural and the blurred sense of reality, Dracula is a prime example of gothic literature.
Gothic Literature highlights the contrast of power and it is always
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,
Brown’s perspective on the European fiction that, while gothic and therefore focusing on “superstition and exploded manners, gothic castles and chimeras”, merely appealed to popular taste and as such held the consensus that reading fiction was an idle pastime (Elliot, ix). Brown’s aim was to change the general consensus of fiction reading and create a genre that challenged readers to use their full intellectual capacity. He did this in Wieland through not only the dialectic, but also through allusions to the climate of the world he was living in. If we are to take Wieland as a representative for the American gothic, then the genre must achieve that goal.
Even though the modern era has produced new forms of expression, movies and television still rely on timeless literary styles. The gothic plays a particularly strong role. In fact, UC Berkeley professor Dr. Jones criticizes, “film, as a medium born with the twentieth century, is both a latecomer to and an avid, unabashed plagiarizer of earlier literary forms of the Gothic.” A modern audience might associate gothic with a moody teenager clad in black and full of angst. However, Lilia Melani from the English Department of Brooklyn College defines what a work needs to be considered gothic. It must showcase “its remote setting, its use of the supernatural, and its medieval trappings, all of which have been so frequently imitated and so poorly imitated