Scholarly record

GOTHIC FICTION TRADITIONS IN THE 19TH CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE

A. B. Anisimov, A. A. Nakhodkina, E. V. Naumova, S. V. Kholmogorova, V. G. Dyachkovskaya

Abstract

Gothic fiction of the 18th and the early 19th centuries has caused a significant influence not only on the mass literature but also on the works of many forthcoming generations of writers and poets. These authors created an atmosphere of anxiety, fear and uncertainty in their works by adopting a range of Gothic romance novel creative methods and techniques. The present article attempts to give an overview of the Gothic romance novel tradition in the 19th century American literature. Charles Brockden Brown, one of the most distinguished authors of that time, is considered the founder of the American Gothic romance genre. He adopted the Gothic atmosphere of writing from such English writers as William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. The Gothic romance novel traditions can also be visibly traced in the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving (The Sketch Book, a collection of sketch stories and novelettes). Grotesque short stories by E.A. Poe often contain the image of Death. For instance, the motif of death of a beautiful woman occurs in such short stories as Berenice, Ligeia, and The Fall of the House of Usher. The influence of the Gothic romance traditions can also be seen in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novelette Rappaccini’s Daughter and in Longfellow’s poem The Skeleton Armor. At the end of the 19th century, ghost stories gained immense popularity. The Turn of the Screw, a mystic psychological short novel by Henry James, is considered to be one of the most engaging stories. Gothic fiction had played a significant role in the becoming of American Romanticism. Fear of something unexplainable, the dead, and ghosts – a typical feature for classic Gothic literature – combines with exploring the dark corners of the human soul. The 19th century American writers depicted the thin line between life and death, the real and the imaginary by bringing forward the deepest human fears and desires.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2017/62/S27.060

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