Diese in englischer Sprache verfasste Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit verschiedenen Erscheinungsformen und Funktionen, in denen das "Haus-Motiv" als "gothic element" in der Angloamerikanischen Literatur auftritt. Zu diesem Zweck werden zahlreiche Prosatexte von Autoren wie F.H. Burnett, A.C. Doyle, B. Stoker, C. Brontë, C. Dickens, D. du Maurier, O. Wilde, J.K. Rowling, N. Hawthorne, M. Twain, W. Faulkner und C.P. Gilman auf das Haus-Motiv hin untersucht, analysiert und im Gothic-Kontext interpretiert.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Gothic Fiction
2.1. Definition
2.2. Roots, Developments, Impact
2.2.1. Britain
2.2.2. USA
2.3. The House – 'Commonplace' in Gothic Fiction
3. Aspects of the Gothic House
3.1. Building and Family Line
3.2. Looking-Glass House or (Gateway to) the Other World
3.3. The House of Bluebeard
3.4. The House as a Tomb
3.5. Culture Clashes and the House
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Core Themes
This paper investigates the multifaceted role of the house as a central Gothic element in British and American literature, exploring its transformation from a mere setting into a dynamic participant that mirrors psychological and societal states. The research aims to analyze how the house functions as a symbol of the family line, a gateway to the unknown, a site of confinement, and a locus for cultural conflict across various literary genres.
- The house as a metaphor for the family line and historical burden.
- Gothic architectural structures as manifestations of the human subconscious.
- The "haunted house" as a site for social and gender-related power dynamics.
- Cultural clashes between inhabitants and their environments in Gothic narratives.
- Psychological depth through domestic symbols in 18th-to-20th-century fiction.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1. Building and Family Line
Considering the latent pun that is inherent in the word ‘house’ - meaning either the building or a family line - it seems not surprising that literature in general and Gothic literature in particular have frequently made use of the motif. Using The Castle of Otranto, “The Fall of the House of Usher“, The House of the Seven Gables and Beloved as examples, different literary realisations of the connection between building and family line will be explored in the following.
In Horace Walpole’s (1717-1797) The Castle of Otranto (1764) both aspects are very much present. It might be said that the portrayal of the castle itself is rather neutral in tone compared to those in later Gothic stories by other authors. However, the essential ingredients are already there: a picture that begins to move until “it quit[s] its pannel, and descend[s] on the floor with a grave and melancholy air“30, “a subterraneous passage which [leads] from the vaults of the castle“31 to a nearby church and to which a hidden trap-door has to be overcome. There is an “awful silence“ only disturbed by occasional blasts of wind that shake the doors “which grating on the rusty hinges were re-echoed through that long labyrinth of darkness.“32 Walpole creates suspense by evoking a “dread that is nameless“, as DeLamotte puts it:
[...] because its object is diffuse, unclear, insusceptible to definition. The vast, mysterious castle tends to depersonalize the threat of violence diffusing the titanic, villainous personality into something even larger - and more obscure.33
Thus, the prominence of external ingredients like the apparition of “the fleshless jaws and empty sockets of a skeleton, wrapt in a hermit’s cowl“34 or the recurrent appearance of the giant knight is heightened. They can now cause shock and horror among the castle’s inhabitants more convincingly and lead Manfred’s servants to such outcries as: “[B]ut for heaven’s sake, good my lord, send for the chaplain and have the castle exorcised, for, for certain, it is enchanted.“35
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter defines the scope of the study, identifying the house as a central literary element that interacts with characters, and introduces the specific texts chosen for the analysis.
2. Gothic Fiction: This section explores the definitions and historical development of Gothic literature in Britain and the USA, establishing the house as a "commonplace" motif in this genre.
3. Aspects of the Gothic House: This main body chapter categorizes the house into various functional archetypes, such as the ancestral home linked to family curses, the gateway to other worlds, the site of gendered power, and the tomb-like structure of repressed memory.
4. Conclusion: The concluding chapter synthesizes findings to affirm that the house remains an effective, timeless tool for addressing complex human conditions and social anxieties.
Keywords
Gothic fiction, The House, Literary symbolism, Family line, Ancestral home, Psychological horror, Repressed memory, Cultural clash, Patriarchy, Haunted house, Gothic mode, American Gothic, British Gothic, Gothic architecture, Uncanny.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the literary function of the house as a "Gothic element," examining how it transcends its role as a mere setting to become a symbolic, participating agent in British and American prose.
What are the primary thematic fields addressed?
The study covers themes such as the intersection of architecture and family identity, the manifestation of guilt through domestic space, and the use of the house to navigate gendered and cultural conflicts.
What is the central research question?
The research explores how the house acts as a versatile symbol for the subconscious, past sins, and patriarchal power, and why it is uniquely suited to represent the human condition in Gothic literature.
Which academic methodology is applied?
The paper utilizes a literary analysis approach, drawing on established definitions of the Gothic and applying them to primary texts through a thematic lens, often incorporating psychoanalytic and feminist perspectives.
What is the thematic content of the main chapters?
The chapters detail the house’s evolution as a "commonplace" motif, analyzing specific archetypes like the "House of Bluebeard," the "Looking-Glass House," and the house as a "Tomb" across various novels.
Which keywords best capture the essence of this study?
Essential keywords include Gothic fiction, house symbolism, family line, psychological horror, and the uncanny, reflecting the study's interdisciplinary literary approach.
How does the paper differentiate the house in American versus British Gothic?
The paper notes that American Gothic often adapts the castle motif to local settings like mansions, focusing on Puritan legacy, democratic anxiety, and the "domestic gothic" rather than solely on aristocratic European tropes.
How is the concept of the 'fissure' interpreted in Poe's work?
In the analysis of "The Fall of the House of Usher," the fissure in the building is interpreted as a symbolic crack in the system, representing the result of taboo—specifically incest—breaking through the silence of a corrupt aristocracy.
- Quote paper
- David Ronneburg (Author), 2002, The house as Gothic element in Anglo-American fiction (18th - 20th century), Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/45509
