American Gothicism

1. American Gothicism English III

2. Gothic Literature: A Definition • "The Gothic novel, or . . . Gothic romance . . . flourished through the early nineteenth century. Authors of such novels set their stories in the medieval period, often in a gloomy castle replete with dungeons, subterranean passages, and sliding panels, and made plentiful use of ghosts, mysterious disappearances, and other sensational and supernatural occurrences; their principal aim was to evoke chilling terror by exploiting mystery, cruelty, and a variety of horrors. The term ‘gothic’ has also been extended to denote a type of fiction which lacks the medieval setting but develops a brooding atmosphere of gloom or terror, represents events which are uncanny, or macabre, or melodramatically violent, and often deals with aberrant psychological states.”

3. Convention #1 • An atmosphere of gloom, terror, or mystery prevails.

4. Convention #2 • The setting tends to be exotic, isolated in time or space from contemporary life, often a ruined mansion or an estate that has been in the family for generations. The building may be associated with past violence and contains hidden doors, subterranean secret passages, concealed staircases, and other such features.

5. Convention #3 • “Damsels in distress” often appear as characters. They may be frightened, confused, wandering around lost, or slowly dying due to some unexplainable illness.

6. Convention #4 • The story includes elements of the uncanny (unheimlich) that challenge reality, including mysterious events that cause the protagonist to question the evidence of his or her senses and the presence of seemingly supernatural beings.

7. Convention #5 • The plot seeks to discover secrets lying within the supernaturally charged environment.

8. Convention #6 • Romantic themes are common—the obsession of someone in love, excessive grief from losing a loved one, or the story of a great passion.

9. Convention #7 • Events occur, often violent or macabre, that cannot be hidden or rationalized despite the efforts of the narrator.

10. Convention #8 • A disturbed or unnatural relation between the orders of things that are usually separate, such as life and death, good and evil, dream life and reality, or rationality and madness.

11. Convention #9 • A hidden or double reality beneath the surface of what at first appears to be a single narrative. The narrative arc of the Gothic story leads to an exposure of what was once hidden, breaking down the barrier between the surface reality and the reality beneath the surface. Often a physical barrier symbolizes a barrier to the information that provides a key to the truth or explanation of the events.

12. Convention #10 • An interrupted narrative form that relies on multiple methods—inserted documents, letters, dreams, fragments of the story told by several narrators—to tell the tale.

13. Traditional Gothic Themes • The world and hero are fallen (imperfect) • The hero in the Gothic story is typically (but not always) weaker than the antagonist; usually flees from it rather than defeats it • Unconscious fears of the human psyche • The individual’s struggle with repressed emotions, thoughts, or desires

14. References • http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/novel.htm • http://frank.mtsu.edu/~saw2z/gothicfictionweb/AmericanGothic.htm • Definition adapted from M. H. Abrams’s A Glossary of Literary Terms (eighth edition, pp. 117-118)