“I pass, like night, from land to land…” I mentioned the cursed wanderer in my recent post on Nautical Gothic, so I wanted to examine the concept here in a bit more detail. This is a character archetype that finds its way into many Gothic works both new and classic, either in the form of a villain, a tragic side character, or an antihero. The cursed wanderer is an outcast from society, usually immortal or otherwise supernatural, and never establishes roots but rather is compelled to wander from place to place as the consequence for some past sin. Continue reading Gothic Tropes: The Cursed Wanderer
Tag: Melmoth the Wanderer
Gothic Tropes: The Faustian Bargain
We all know never to make a deal with the devil right? The concept of engaging in trades or bargains with demonic figures has been a common motif in folklore around the world for centuries, but this particular iteration—the Faustian bargain—derives its name from the Germanic folk legend of Doctor Faust. These legends spring from a real historical figure, a sixteenth-century itinerant alchemist and astrologer named Johann Faust, whose larger-than-life reputation led to rumors that he had sold his soul to the devil in exchange for great knowledge and magical abilities. The legend of Doctor Faust has been directly adapted into works of literature many times, but we also see similar bargains being struck by other characters throughout Gothic literature.
Gothic Settings: Asylums
Complete isolation within your padded cell walls. The screams and unintelligible ramblings of your fellow inmates. The torturous “treatments” that are more terrifying than the monsters in your own mind. What could make a better setting for horror than the madhouse? As popular as lunatic asylums still are in modern horror, this setting has its roots deep in Gothic literature—going back further than you might think. Indeed, like so many of the other recurring Gothic settings, these institutions lend themselves particularly well to Gothic tropes. Isolation and imprisonment are at the core of the asylum’s function. Any story set within its walls can use the spectacle of insanity as the engine of horror. And apart from madness itself, there are also the horrors of the cruel treatment, cramped spaces, and poor physical conditions that unfortunately characterize such institutions.
Gothic Settings: Abbeys and Monasteries
I’ve discussed before on this blog how the Gothic literary genre takes its name from the Gothic style of architecture. Appropriately, the medieval structures that typify this architectural style are often used as the backdrop to Gothic stories. The obvious example, and the very first structure I discussed in this series on Gothic settings, is the castle. But another place we see Gothic architecture from the Middle Ages is in religious buildings, such as monasteries and abbeys.
Melmoth: Literary Fiction Meets the Gothic
It’s not often you hear that a classic Gothic novel (other than Frankenstein or Dracula) is getting freshly reimagined by a modern author. That’s why it immediately caught my eye when I saw that a novel called Melmoth just came out in October. Melmoth is the newest book by British writer Sarah Perry (author of The Essex Serpent). As the title suggests, Melmoth borrows heavily from Charles Maturin’s 1820 novel Melmoth the Wanderer, but Perry’s version is not a straightforward re-telling. Instead, stylistic and story elements of the classic Gothic work are woven into a new, original story to create a unique hybrid of genres. Continue reading Melmoth: Literary Fiction Meets the Gothic
Gothic Tropes: Madness
Madness is the monster that lurks inside our own minds. And in some ways, it is the most terrifying monster of all. Its intangibility means that it cannot be fought, and its irrational nature makes it nearly impossible to understand. Perhaps this is why insanity crops up as one of the most common themes in Gothic literature. I present it in this post as one trope, but madness is explored in many different ways in both the victims and the villains of Gothic literature, and the way it is presented has changed over time. Continue reading Gothic Tropes: Madness