{"id":81,"date":"2019-12-12T00:22:31","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T00:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jefferson-english102\/chapter\/the-gothic-in-literature-american-literature-i\/"},"modified":"2019-12-13T16:34:16","modified_gmt":"2019-12-13T16:34:16","slug":"the-gothic-in-literature-american-literature-i","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jefferson-english102\/chapter\/the-gothic-in-literature-american-literature-i\/","title":{"raw":"The Gothic in Literature","rendered":"The Gothic in Literature"},"content":{"raw":"
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Definition<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

Note this definition by Claire Kahane from The Mother Tongue: Essays in Psychoanalytic Interpretation<\/em> from our talks about the Gothic:<\/p>\r\n

Within an imprisoning structure, a protagonist, typically a young woman whose mother has died, is compelled to seek out the center of a mystery, while vague and usually sexual threats to her person from some powerful male figure hover on the periphery of her consciousness.\u00a0 Following clues that pull her onward and inward\u2014bloodstains, mysterious sounds\u2014she penetrates the obscure recesses of a vast labyrinthean space and discovers a secret room sealed off by its association with death. (334)<\/p>\r\n

At first glance, you might not think that this novella is Gothic.\u00a0 It\u2019s not literally filled with death, there are no graveyards, and the boat isn\u2019t literally a ghost ship!\u00a0 Looking further at how this narrative includes Gothic elements, though, we can see it fits the structure aptly.<\/p>\r\n

Well, is Melville doing that \u201cGothic thing\u201d in her story?\u00a0 Kinda?\u00a0 Sorta?\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at how he uses the pattern and innovates upon it.\u00a0 Remember, when did we say that the Gothic got started?\u00a0 Oh, that\u2019s right, around 1790.\u00a0 This is much later, but then again the Gothic is incredibly popular even today.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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\u201cLeatherstocking\u2019s Rescue\u201d<\/a> by John Quidor (1801\u20131881) <\/i>via The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/i> is licensed under CC0 1.0<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Tip: Look up the works of an artist such as John Quidor to gauge how closely they fit the Gothic.\u00a0 Do the same with artists or even movies and television programs you enjoy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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CC licensed content, Original<\/div>\r\n