Gothic Fiction: The Representation of Evil in Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto. The Castle of Otranto is a 1764 novel written by Horace Walpole. It is regarded as the first Gothic novel, initiating a new literary genre which became extremely popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Gothic literature’s desire to explore the unknown, the unexplainable, inexplicable and the terrifying can be seen as a reaction to the Enlightenment’s emphasis on the rational and knowable. The Enlightenment rejected the belief in superstition, and religion. Reason, deductive logic, and observation were the methods of examining the world. A clash of these two approaches is noticeable in Otranto. The novel violates 18th century standard of polite culture and proportion, which results in its being so popular among Walpole’s contemporaries, and is a source of different interpretations for modern readers. Evil is an important part of the book, it is presented in the actions of the main character of the novel, Manfred. The atmosphere of the setting can also be described as evil. Rosemary Jackson claims that evil can be examined from two perspectives: one: rational, and second-using supernatural elements to explain something. The former represents the Enlightenment, the latter-medieval ‘Dark Ages.’ Jackson writes: “[E]vil is caused by some otherworldly demonic force, coming from outside the human, or evil is caused because of the manifestation of human unconscious desire”(52). It depends on the reader what approach to choose for their understanding of the novel. The situatio... ... middle of paper ... ...Manfred and the castle is destruction. Works Cited Anolik, Ruth Bienstock. Horrors of Possesion: The Gothic Struggle wit the Law. Austin, Texas: Haverford College Press, 2008. Clery, E.J. Introduction to: The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Howells, Coral Ann. Love, Mystery and Misery: Feeling in Gothic Fiction. London: Athlone Press, 1995. Jackson, Rosemary. Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion. London: Methuen, 1981. MacAndrew, Elizabeth. The Gothic Tradition in Fiction. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979. Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. 1532. Dante University of America Press, 2003. Sage, Victor. The Gothick Novel. London: The Macmillan Press, 1990. Walpole, Horace. The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story. 1764. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
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 presentation of moral issues in Othello establishes that during the Renaissance period some writers challenged the traditional Elizabethan society. For instance, in Cinthio’s story Iago was a minor villain; however, Shakespeare transformed him into the Machiavellian that Is most memorable for his deception and downfall. Whereas, the presentation of moral issues in Frankenstein presents moral theory’s such as Unitarianism and the Theory of Natural Rights as inherent to which the characters face moral issues of their time. This is evident as the industrial revolution, scientific discoveries, traditional religious and metaphysical thought were topics in discussion in that time and had such an influential role in the novel. However, in Jane Eyre, the presentation of moral issues portrays a world where ethical choices overrule passion. This is evident when Jane decides it is morally right to be a “beggar” rather than a “mistress” when leaving Thornfield. Therefore, as readers, we sympathise with the characters; even if that means that, their actions are immoral of their time.
The inclusions of gothic conventions of the same variety create a gothic genre for the novel. The use of the weather in the form of pathetic fallacies is particularly important in the way this forms the novel to be gothic. As the description of the weather evokes an atmosphere of suspense and the many connotations associated to the weather in particular the stereotype...
Many of the great Romantic authors wrote gothic literature at some point in their literary careers and some even created their literary legacies, perhaps unintentionally, with their tales of horror and suspense. One of the most notable authors during the Romantic period that is well known today for creating one of the greatest literary ...
Throughout the years, Gothic literature has developed to be a mirror representation of what the beliefs and thoughts of the time were. The Gothic has a tendency to express beliefs towards the socioeconomic, political and religious situations and grievances of the time. Many texts express this, some including Edgar Allen Poe’s The House of Usher and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, to then allow for the general public – at least those who were literate – to, subconsciously, understand the environment around them without being too direct. This gave the writers of the time a new channel, through this ge...
"Gothic Literature." : What Is Gothic Literature? N.p., 11 July 2007. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. .
Scott, Robert. The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003.
The blending of terror and romance in Gothic Literature was used in a unique combination to attract and entice the reader into the story. The terror in the literature helps the reader explore their imagination and form their own picture setting of what is happening. Using romance in the story also keeps the reader's attention because of the unknown and the curiosity of what happens next. The Gothic writing became popular after the Romantic period because readers were still a...
The evil nature of this individual is made manifest, and thus evil enters the story in a significant way.
Germanà, Monica Gothic Studies Vol. 13 Issue 2, p98-115, Manchester: Manchester University Press 2012. Academic Journal
Gies, Frances, et. al. Life in a Medieval Castle. New York: Thomas Crowell Company, 1974.
...n idea about the human psyche and the nature of evil. Throughout the novels, we have acts that were dubbed as evil. Some of these were: the acts of the rabbi’s son, the killing of Simon, and even the joy Eliezer felt at the death of his father. All of these points and the many that weren’t mentioned all shared a singular idea. It was that the ulterior motive of these acts revolved around people reacting on instinct and desire. From these, we gain the final message of the novel that was proven time and time again. This message was that evil isn’t an act that just isn’t moral. Evil is the primal, instinctual, an animalistic rage that lives in the darker part of our heart, a part of the heart that is brought to light upon the moment the chains of civilization are broken..... A moment where we fall prey to our instincts and our conscience disappears into the darkness.
In what follows, my research paper will rely on an article by Kathy Prendergast entitled “Introduction to The Gothic Tradition”. The significance of this article resides in helping to recapitulate the various features of the Gothic tradition. In this article the authoress argues that in order to overturn the Enlightenment and realistic literary mores, many of the eighteenth century novelists had recourse to traditional Romantic conventions in their works of fiction, like the Arthurian legendary tales (Prendergast).
The term ‘Gothic’ is highly amorphous and open to diverse interpretations; it is suggestive of an uncanny atmosphere of wilderness gloom and horror based on the supernatural. The weird and eerie atmosphere of the Gothic fiction was derived from the Gothic architecture: castles, cathedrals, forts and monasteries with labyrinths of dark corridors, cellars and tunnels which evoked the feelings of horror, wildness, suspense and gloom.
Punter David, ‘The Literature of Terror’, in A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day, The Modern Gothic. Harlow, eds. (UK: Pearson Education, 1996)