Gothic Elements in House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves is a contemporary novel that contains the four characteristics of the Gothic novel: architecture, death and decay, family secrets, and deviant sexuality. It also contains some elements of the American Gothic such as mental instability and drugs and alcohol. Architecture by far, plays the greatest role in the book. The house itself causes the events in the book to unfold. Supposedly built in 1720, it has housed approximately
The Novel House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski uses two characters of his own creation to construct the book in its entirety. The first contributor, Zampano, who is the author, who may or may not be trustworthy of the interpretation of The Navidson Record, because he is blind. Early on in his efforts to finish the book he dies under suspicious circumstances. At this point, Danielewski employees another to contribute, Johnny Truant, who composes the introduction and notes for the book. Zampano
sense because adults are fully developed. Although the literal meaning of maturity is within the realm of being fully developed, there is a more precise definition that would apply to the psychological and mental practice of what is maturity. Mark Danielewski says “Maturity, one
Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves is an intricately layered post-modernist text, entwined with a complex narrative that even the most intrepid readers would find difficult to navigate. The novel follows the dialogue of an array of characters in their experiences with the ‘haunted’ house located on Ash Tree Lane. The house, ever changing in structure, is in many ways a direct reflection of the form of narration employed by Danielewski in tracing each character’s journey. In her article, “What Has
by those around them. Early works of Madness in Literature include novels such as Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. More recent works include novels such as Remainder by Tom McCarthy and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. Novels like these include characters that are considered ‘mad’ by those around them because of the instability of their environment. Those who are considered mad are put into a separate class which builds a wall between the sane and insane