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The impact of the Victorian era literature
Themes in gothic fiction
Importance of gothic themes in literature
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The purpose of this essay is to discuss how three Victorian writers use the features of Gothic horror to create an atmosphere of foreboding in their short stories. The three stories I will be exploring are The Yellow Wallpaper, The Red Room and The Monkey’s Paw. The red room uses the most traditional gothic horror features. It is exactly like gothic horror because it is set in “Lorraine castle” which has been “abandoned for 18 months”. This is scary because there is old furniture, statues, lots of corridors and corners people could hide behind in a castle. This makes us scared because humans fear of having someone jumping out at them something not alive which moves. In the red room the narrator experiences supernatural events when the candles are blown out instantly. “The flame vanished, as if the wicks had been suddenly nipped between a finger and thumb”. This is scary because when there is no light there could be things out there that the eye can not see in the dark. The male narrator then starts to panic demonstrating high emotion which is typical gothic horror. He describes himself panicking in a “cry of terror” and “I darted to and fro” this shows you completely deranged he is becoming. As readers we join the man in his terror and feel like we want to hide ourselves from it. Of the tree short stories the red room has the most features of gothic horror with the exception of the ending, where the narrator is really factual about the cause of the “haunting”. This is typical of the Victorian era which was very scientific and factual based, if they couldn’t see it or touch it wasn’t real. Another short story that captures some of the development of the Victorian era is “the monkey’s paw”. The story is set in a cosy cotta... ... middle of paper ... ... scary because it is un-natural and in-human behaviour. It is disturbing for the reader to have the picture of an ordinary woman gnawing at her bed. The first person narrator is clearly in distress when she appears to be being kept prisoner by her husband, john. However as the story progresses, she obviously becomes mentally ill, and we realize that her husband may not be the tyrannical male we first thought. The Victorians were afraid of admitting that themselves or other people that they are mad because they were very self conscious of their appearance and how other people thought of them and madness was considered shameful. In conclusion I have shown that “the red room” has the most gothic terror features and “the Yellow Wallpaper” has the least. However all three Victorian stories scare the reader even though they only have a few features of gothic horror.
The Signalman and The Red Room are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories How effectively do the authors of “The Red Room” and “The Signalman” create a sense of suspense in the story "The Signalman" and "The Red Room" are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories. The Signalman by Charles Dickens was written in 1865, which was the time of developing literacy. This short story was presented in three parts as it was previously in a periodical form; this technique was also used to create suspense and therefore leaves the reader at a cliff hanger after each episode, which in turn motivates the reader to read on. There were many rumors about this story as many people suggested that Dickens wrote this story as a remembrance of the day he was involved in a railway accident which killed ten people. Furthermore, He was writing in the Victorian times, when there was a massive change in technology as new inventions were created, e.g. the Train.
In the novel JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte, I felt that in chapter two that the red room was a very dark place where bad things happen. The red kind of symbolizes blood, hell, and torture. The door locks from the outside, that itself is just odd. “O aunt! Have pity! Forgive me! I cannot endure it—let me be punished some other way! I shall be killed if—” This quote shows what Jane thought about the red room and how much torture it was. She even said she would rather get punished any other way. The red room sounds like a very dark and scary place that nobody should have to witness.
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
The old mans bedroom is the only room that is mentioned in the story. The setting and tone is made scarier because the looks of the room are not described. This allows our imagination to run wild. The room is where the narrator watches the old man sleep and ends up taking his life.
First, The narrator is sceptical and doubtful about the red room and its alleged supernatural powers; "I can assure you that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me." His arrogant behaviour creates uneasiness in the reader's mind as it is typical in a Gothic story. the smug non-believer to be the first victim of the story. However, as a result, it is. the story continues, we see that there is very little dialogue in the later parts of the story.
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
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.
Frightening details begin to unfold about the room, including: barred windows, a bolted down bed, and of course, the wallpaper itself (227). Gilman uses the imagery to create an air of suspense and insinuates the narrator’s coming fall into insanity. The setting of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” in large, leads to the narrator’s collapse. Almost instantly, the narrator’s already unstable mind perceives a ghostliness that begins to set her even more on edge. Her tense mind is then further pushed towards insanity by her husband,
How does the writer create tension and suspense in The Red Room? The writer is able to create tension and suspense through various ways in the short story ‘The Red Room’. The opening sentence in the story immediately mentions the supernatural, which immediately tells us that this is a gothic story. The first sentence is dialogue, but we do not know who is speaking.
Key Elements of Gothic Literature Jasmine Giles People enjoy reading gothic literature due to its heart rate exciting nature. Without having to engage with any real danger, it is common for the reader to feel anxiety and impaitence when reading gothic fiction. In order for the reader to feel these emotions, the author uses certain elements, such as a gloomy setting and old-fashioned dialoge. In the stories “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart”, by elgar allen poe, and “The Landlady”, by Roland Dahl, there are many similarites that remanticize the idea of horror and mystery. Some elements, however, bring out the disbolical horror of gothic literature: the setting, characterization, and the motif of suspense.
Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and “supernatural” qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher.
The story is not only about the horror of red death, but also the irony of the impossible effort of escaping death regardless of power, wealth, and social status. The plot of the story was effectively written with an excellent exposition that introduces metaphorical settings, historic characters, and extraordinary situations, creating such a strong effect on describing the horror of the read death. For example, the transition in color and decorations of the seven rooms symbolizes the stages of life and the contrary of the seventh room depicts the last stage of life which is death. Poe describes that ceiling and the walls in the seventh room are hung with black velvet tapestries falling in heavy folds upon the carpet with the same material and hue (“The Masque of the Red Death” 688). However, “in this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet—a deep blood color” (“The Masque of the Red Death” 688). This particular setting provokes such an unpleasant feeling toward the readers since the red color is often used as a conventional image or symbol which is associated with death.
Tension and Suspense in The Red Room by H.G. Wells In H.G Wells’ The Red Room tension and suspense are created through the characters, the plot and the setting. The setting is typical of Gothic and Victorian ghost stories. In these times there was no electricity so use of candles for light created an eerie atmosphere. They had no modern technology like televisions for entertainment so they used books and story telling.
The story unfolds in a rickety colonial mansion described by the narrator plainly as “a haunted house” (Gilman 1) with barred windows and rings bolted to the walls (Gilman 2). These features along with the “horrid” (Gilman 6) yellow wallpaper entrap the narrator and swaddle her in her own madness. As the “woman” (Gilman 6) in the wallpaper takes hold of the narrator’s psyche she grows sinisterly corporal, depicted through the unintelligible sporadic entries. The purpose of the narrator’s journal warps from entries assuring herself of the pettiness of her sickness to entries that confirm and act as horrendous safe haven’s for her unhinged mental condition. Entries like “I see her in that long shaded lane, creeping up and down. I see her in hose dark grape 'arbors, creeping all around the garden” (Gilman 8) juxtapose nonchalant writing style with dark subject matter in a way that creates a disturbing tone that must be uncomfortably ingested by