The Uncanny Works of Austen's Northanger Abbey and Hogg's Confessions of a Justified Sinner
In order to discuss the literature of the uncanny we must first be able to define "uncanny", and trying to grasp a firm understanding of the term "uncanny" is problematic; since as accepted reference works such as the Oxford English Dictionary filter down into popular culture the meaning subtly alters, or becomes drawn towards only one aspect of what was originally a much broader definition. To illustrate this, the Oxford Complete Wordfinder, Reader's Digest (1999), defines: "uncanny adj. seemingly supernatural; mysterious * see EERIE" and my word-processor contributes:
meanings for "uncanny" : weird; "Of a mysteriously strange and usually frightening nature" (Word 2002 Thesaurus, allegedly adapted from the Oxford Thesaurus and Roget's 2nd: The New Thesaurus.)
The OED, the source from which both of these definitions ultimately are derived, takes its associations somewhat further, and there are decided connotations of the perilous and mystic:
"mischievous, malicious ... not to be trusted ... associated with supernatural arts or powers ... dangerous, unsafe" (lecture handout notes), but even considering this it is difficult to come to a decisive, all-encompassing definition of what constitutes 'uncanny literature', because to be concerned with the unknown, the subject matter must by its very nature be imprecise. What is suggested becomes far more important than what is actually said. An excellent illustration of this is the work of that master of cosmic otherworldliness, H.P. Lovecraft. (Typical extract from an e-text of his short story, The Outsider: "I beheld in full, frightful vividness the inconceivable, indescribab...
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...ssible engagement with the text, it is also an invited one, because a great deal of the value of the text lies in presenting an unsettling and subtle variation upon a known theme or situation. Mastery of the literary genre depends upon a clear knowledge not only of recurrent themes and styles of the form (which exist to be perpetuated in continually evolving manner, much more so than in other genres), but of human nature and the psychological triggers which create in readers a spirit of curiosity. One might think that such a device was inherent to any form of writing of any quality, and whilst this is true, there is a much more marked difference between formulaic uncanny and gothic fiction than that of other genres.
Works Cited
Confessions of a Justified Sinner, James Hogg, Everyman, 1998.
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen, Oxford World's Classics, 1998.
While reading the short story, the author demonstrates that Pauline, the protagonist is having a hard time. At first, Anne Carter uses the main character to show us that her transformation helps her from reaching her dream. Also, the author employs contrasting characters to mention the current state of Pauline’s safety and ambition. At last, Laurel uses settings to show us that the protagonist is ready to sacrifice her safety to attain her dream. Finally, Anne’s point is aimed at everyone, not only people who have a difficult body condition, but also the people that desperately want to achieve their dream. To read a story that deals with this theme makes us realize that it is not everyone that can accomplish what they really want in their
Morgan, J. The biology of horror: gothic literature and film. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.
A person who is hosting a party with both adults and minors should be held to the same standards as a restaurant or a store that sells alcohol. When a person hosts a party, they know the people who are attending. They would know who was of age and who was underage. Furthermore, if the host wasn’t sure if a person was of age it wouldn’t take but a minute to look at a person’s identification to determine if they are of age or not. Exactly what a restaurant or store would do. There is no excuse to allow a minor to have access to alcohol or serve a minor
and challenges to African Americans from 1910 until about 1930. Du Bois felt that Americans
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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.
	Along with a gloomy and terrifying atmosphere, Arthur uses the element of aberrant psychological states of mind to add to his gothic story. An example of irrational behavior is shown when Laura becomes outraged and spontaneously murders George. We thought, as well, that when Laura suffers a fainting spell is also an example of this psychological state of mind. Evidence of this is found when Arthur writes: "Harry held Laura until the nausea within her subsided." Lastly, hallucinations were also prevalent in the story as well. We thought a good example was when Harry and Laura were bringing George to the cabin to dispose of his body, Laura claims that George’s dead eye slowly opened and gave her a knowing wink.
Gothic imagery and themes include castles, coffins, monsters and strange lands and pose the background of the classic Gothic novel. The Gothic element is synonymous with the horror and uncanny- a feeling rather than form, in which transgression is the central topic (Wisker 7). The vampire is a figure that transgresses society’s limits to form the central dynamic of the Gothic. “We enjoy seeing the limit transgressed- it horrifies us and reinforces our sense of boundaries and normalcy” (Halberstam 13). Assuming that Bram Stoker’s Dracula sets the archetype of the vampire, it is clear that modern vampires have demonstrated a decrease in the Gothic horror despite similarities in the Gothic imagery
In Shirley Jackson's novel "The Haunting of Hill House", there are numerous traces of the representation of the uncanny which was suggested by Sigmund Freud. In the story, the Hill House itself is an uncanny figure to the central protagonist, Eleanor, as it features as her mother which has an ambivalent nature as the meaning of the German word of `uncanny' itself. Moreover, the house also acts as a mirror reflecting her own image so that she can see herself by looking at the house, thus the house is actually an allegory of Eleanor's psychological condition and she is literally consumed by it in the end as the boundary between her and the house collapses. Besides, another protagonist, Theodora, is a double of Eleanor as she figures her opposite side which is her denied self and self-destructiveness while she also expresses the repressed feelings of Eleanor. These examples match with the concept of the uncanny which stresses on the uncanny effect of the `Doubling' and `Infantile complexes' . (Alison 32)
Edgar Allan Poe has a unique writing style that uses several different elements of literary structure. He uses intrigue vocabulary, repetition, and imagery to better capture the reader’s attention and place them in the story. Edgar Allan Poe’s style is dark, and his is mysterious style of writing appeals to emotion and drama. What might be Poe’s greatest fictitious stories are gothic tend to have the same recurring theme of either death, lost love, or both. His choice of word draws the reader in to engage them to understand the author’s message more clearly. Authors who have a vague short lexicon tend to not engage the reader as much.
In “The Masque of the Red Death” Poe uses this characteristic to bring in a new character. “[The] mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat.” (Poe 5). The ghostly figure is seen throughout the castle by the party goers and stuns them with fear. Since Prince Prospero was hiding in his castle from his people and the death that plagued them, the figure resembled the red death and the dead people of his kingdom. The figure seeked vengeance from the people to the prince, it came to give Prospero and the others at the party the horrible red
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Life coaches need to practice continued awareness of the range of life coaching and its conceivable boundaries, according to Dunbar (2010). For instance, it is imperative for coaches to acknowledge when it is in a client’s best interest to direct them to a further qualified professional especially as the boundaries are not always transparent. In addition, life coaches must set visibly clear limitations as to when it is plausible to set up meetings with a client or refer them out (Dunbar, 2010).
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Jack Morgan, The Biology of Horror: Gothic Literature and Film (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002) null03, Questia, Web, 29 May 2010.