Late Gothic 1814-1848

Watch and make notes on forbidden knowledge in late gothic fiction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8ka3HLrT3c What happened in the mid 19th century which influenced writers of The Gothic?

“Rather than discussing sex in an open and possibly dangerous way, the possibilities of sexual experience could be coded into these exotic [Gothic] narratives, disguised by time and space into a culture that was understood to be transgressive by definition. The possibilities for expression were therefore endless. Catholicism is not a vague feature of the background in most gothic novels; it is, rather, an active element in the romance of personal relations.” – The Horrors of Catholicism: Religion and Sexuality in Gothic Fiction, George Haggerty. Why did writers need to ‘disguise’ their discussion of sex by displacing it in ‘time and space’? When and why would Catholicism have been seen as part of a culture that was ‘transgressive by definition’? If the primary virtue of the Gothic in the 18th and 19th centuries was that it allowed the discussion of taboos like sex in a disguised and therefore ‘safe’ way, what is it that continues to make this genre so enduringly popular today?

Victorian Gothic Writers in this period often adopt the Gothic genre as a means to explore taboo subjects forbidden by ‘Victorian’ morality. Their texts explore the dark recesses of Victorian society and the private desires, perversions and degeneration that lurk behind the façade of respectability. Research late gothic writers such as Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe and R.L. Stevenson. What taboo subjects do they tackle?

Gothic characteristics Arrange the cards so that you have a quotation from at least one text that matches the key Gothic characteristic. Extension: Look up the short story ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allan Poe on your iPads and find more quotations that match the characteristics. What do you notice about the language the writers (Dickens – ‘The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber’; Reece – ‘The Writing on the Wall’) use in these short extracts?

As a class, annotate this extract from chapter 5 of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) ....I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs. How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips. In this extract, Victor Frankenstein first sees, and is terrified by, his creation – the monster. Annotate this passage carefully. How does Shelley use features of The Gothic? What contextual factors do you think influenced Shelley’s writing?

Homework: Using the full extract from Frankenstein (on the Learning Space) write a critical appreciation of this passage, relating your discussion to your reading of the Gothic. Remember: AO1: 12.5% (argument/ interpretation), AO2: 75% (analysis/ discussion of the writer’s use of language, form and structure), AO3: 12.5% (links to the Gothic in context).

Women in Gothic Literature https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xn2UhKXJwE What does Burns say about: Women in early Gothic fiction? Women in late Gothic fiction? Can you think of any examples of women who are more than just ‘victims’ in Gothic texts?

Parody in late Gothic Literature Look up plot summaries of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and Thomas Love Peacock’s Nightmare Abbey. What attitudes and insights do these novels reveal about: a) the Gothic as a genre? b) the readers of Gothic novels? Do you think that Austen and Peacock saw the Gothic as a ‘serious’ genre? How would you describe the novels named above? Are they imitations, parodies or pastiches?

Northanger Abbey (1818), Jane Austen How does Austen use features of the early and high Gothic periods? How does she use language to create a sense of parody? What contextual features do you think would have influenced the ways in which Austen writes?

Now: Read the extract from Northanger Abbey, annotating it for features of the Gothic. In pairs, plan a critical appreciation of the extract. Remember: AO1: 12.5% (argument/ interpretation), AO2: 75% (analysis/ discussion of the writer’s use of language, form and structure), AO3: 12.5% (links to the Gothic in context).

Homework: Read the article ‘The Female Gothic: Then and Now.’ What more do you learn about the role of women in Gothic literature?