The Gothic

by David Punter, Glennis Byron

This guide provides an overview of the most significant issues and debates in Gothic studies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gothic, Literary Criticism, Reference, Vampires, 21st Century

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Bill Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this is a textbook when I picked it up. Clearly intended to accompany a course -- presumably an overpriced mandatory purchase for students of the authors' classes -- the book is organized into sections that include the history of the Gothic novel and its progeny, summaries of key texts, discussions of authors, and a collection of essays on recurrent themes. I took a course in the Gothic back in college and it's interesting to see how the academic considerations have changed over the decades. Back then the newest authors considered "Gothic" by my prof were Faulkner and Nathaniel West where this 90s tome goes full-bore Stephen King and Anne Rice and spreads the 19th Century Gothic tradition a good deal thinner to cover all that modern ground.

The authors are at their best in discussing literature and the factual errors are hilarious when they stray into film. There's also a chapter on 90s Goth lifestyles and music that must have been outdated even before the type was set and that mostly serves as an epitaph for classic academia and a signpost for the desperation of the humanities to appear relevant in a world of commerce. The author and text summaries are a mixed bag, probably driven by the author's prejudices, but they do serve as introductions to work that could be easily overlooked otherwise.

In general, the book was not hard to read, despite the errors and the occasional outbursts of academic wanking, and makes a decent, if limited introduction to a deep tradition in western culture. Not especially recommended though, unless you're buying the book to please teacher.

[kumori]

Gothic literature is notoriously difficult to pin down in a single fixed definition but nobody would dispute that the first wave of the genre in the 18th century that started with Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto (1764) and which ended with Charles Robert Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) fall squarely within the original Gothic tradition; next is the second wave of 19th century gothic with a domestication of gothic setting as well as a shift in themes steeped in victorian era’s cultural and social anxieties, but after that, Gothic is more to do with gothic conventions, or particular tropes, or repeated motifs that can be found scattered, or diffused, through the modern literature, especially in its more modern manifestations in 21st century , in terms of a various gothic subgenres. (Gothic horror, gothic romance, gothic fantasy, gothic thrillers, historical gothic southern gothic,… continues ad infinitum). The reason is because gothic blends easily with any genre without losing its identity and modifies the said genre with dark mood/setting/aesthetics/themes. This in turn lead into an argument that it’s just a matter of critical convenience, that Gothic functions as a catch-all container rather than a tightly defined genre. Moreover critics project their own modern ideas onto older books, “Gothic" means whatever suits them to mean, to reflects contemporary anxieties through lenses like psychoanalysis, feminist theory, or post-colonialism, and finding hidden meanings that the original authors may not have consciously planned or even actually had not intended at all.
For example ; in Gothic incest: Gender, sexuality and transgression by Jenny DiPlacidi an attempt to re-read and analyze every Ann Radcliffe’s books through the lens of incest taboo felt forced and in my humble opinion is too far-fetched. If you have read all of her books you would know that the only near-incestuous thing (which means there’s no consummated act, it’s a one-sided thing after all) and unconsciously at that because it is before both of them know that they are related to each other, only happened in Romance of The Forest between uncle and her niece. Most absurdly the critical studies mischaracterized and sexualized lots of Radcliffe’s heroines’s gestures/words as well as eroticized the totally pure sibling relationship or the heroines’s interaction with their villainous relation. It even claimed sexual connotation to the most random events in the books just to push the agenda. Like, did we even read the same books?

My last complain is this ; The author briefly touched upon Female Gothic, a term which an American academic and literary scholar Ellen Moers first coined in Literary Women (1976), she defined it simply as the work that women writers had done in the Gothic mode since the eighteenth century. But curiously this gothic studies doesn’t include du Maurier’s Rebecca? Even though it was a direct descendant of Jane Eyre which traced back to Ann Radcliffe? Even though it was evidently one of the most important key works of gothic literature in early 20th century furthermore it brought back the female gothic tradition? The author instead included some random 20th century male writers in gothic writers chapter, with Psycho (1959) and American Psycho (1991) as one of the key works of gothic literature? Are you kidding me?

Conclusion : readers don’t always have to agree with every gothic critical studies they read and it’d be better to read any relevant gothic text in advance before delving into the critical studies pertaining to it.

[Jelena Nemet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many critics have seen Byron himself – or, better, one aspect of Byron or of the Byron myth as developed by himself but equally by others – as the apotheosis of the fearless, terrifying, outlaw hero who occurs all the time in the Gothic novel from The Mysteries of Udolpho to Dracula. It needs to be said, however, that Byron’s attitude towards the Gothic was frequently satirical.
‘The horrid crags, by toppling convent crowned’ in Childe Harold, and the description of Newstead Abbey Yes! In thy gloomy cells and shades profound, The monk abjur’d a world, he ne’er could view; Or blood-stain’d Guilt repenting, solace found, Or Innocence, from stern Oppression, flew (21–4) – have been cited as straightforward references to the Gothic conventions, but the famous description of the apparition towards the end of Don Juan is clearly intended to provoke a more ironic reaction:

It was no mouse – but lo! a monk, arrayed In cowl and beads, and dusky garb, appeared, Now in the moonlight, and now lapsed in shade, With steps that trod as heavy, yet unheard; His garments only a slight murmur made; He moved as shadowy as the Sisters weird, But slowly; and as he passed Juan by, Glanced, without pausing, on him a bright eye. (16.160–7)

[M. J. Ceruti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una introducción estupenda, sencilla y fácil de digerir, pensada para estudiantes universitarios que necesitan los primeros ladrillos sobre los que edificar un conocimiento más profundo del tema.

Tiene puntos flacos, por supuesto. Su fecha de edición, a principios de los 00, lo ha dejado desactualizado por casi treinta años. Se limitan exclusivamente a la literatura y cine en inglés. El capítulo sobre gótico poscolonial es directamente risible (sólo hablan del Beloved de Morrison; incluso habiéndose publicado mucho antes del boom del terror latinoamericano, esa aversión a salirse de su propio ámbito cultural/lingüístico acaba por dar un poco de vergüenza ajena).

Aún así, lo recomiendo muchísimo. Ojalá se publicaran más libros introductorios de esta clase para más temas.

[Scott Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this is a reference book, and I love good reference books. This is a good reference book.

One of the key early points made in the essay section, is that the Gothic is a response to, and exploration of, the dissolution of nation, family and self. I think we need to let that sink in. As the guideposts of civilization and rationality slip away, there is a decent into madness, despair, and horror.

Horror is fueled by the dissolution of:

* rationality
* continuity of a culture tested and found valuable over the course of centuries
* common sense
* a common understanding or decency
* the sanctity of the body
* physical safety
* sanity
* lawfulness and equal application of the law
* freedom of movement
* free speech
* transparent monetary policy from the government and the banks (it is most certainly a horror to have a government or bank freeze your accounts extra-judiciously)
* peace
* food safety
* tradition
* connection to some higher ideal or power other than the State or one's Owners.

Given the above, it seems as if the West is living in the New Gothic Nightmare.

U.S. culture in particular, as dictated by the Democratics/Marxists/Nihilist and Establishment Media, has become a night circus of Burning Man meets Josef Mengele. The R.D. Laings and MKULTRA teams pumping psychosis-inducing nonsense on the populace; the Foucaults and Frantz Fanons justifying moral transgression, violence, racism, nihilism, sexual assault and murder in the classrooms.

BLM never building a literacy center, a trade school, or farmer's market in the food deserted inner cities. Antifa distracting and destroying Portland in a drug-hazed Cremation of Care, sporting purple hair anonymity,while the ruling class is literally looting and jackbooting the average citizens; all the while genitally mutilating children and forcing medicines on the general populace that do not work, and might actually kill. A touch of The Thanatos Syndrome, here.

In the tower, the corroded dank, decayed, fetid and spiteful home on the highest hill, the transhumanists seek to recreate the nightmares of Frankenstein and Dr. Moreau; of the Gulag and the Holocaust. Their utopian lies are nothing but invitations to the torture chamber, the insane asylum and to mass graves, all feeding their vampiric empty souls with infinite hunger. Are they the Blood Countess or simply a cabal of satanic, Shoah fixated ghouls Hunter: The Reckoning or Demon the Fallen.

Begging the question: if they could really upload into the cloud and spend eternity having orgies in silicon bodies, what is holding them back? There is no next step for humanity, as they see it. Their works are all versions of the Twilight Zone episodes "To Serve Man". So angry that power did not bring them peace, they seek the final orgasm of destruction instead. Which was the critique offered by this book on American Psycho.

This is the message of The Gothic tale. It has been from the start.

Unfortunately, this is the reality of our current place in western history.

The question is: will this current age wake up, or will it continue to be smothered by occultists plying psychic chloroform to a dumbed-down populace, all to shove them into right-think vans driving up-canyon to blood bath operas where gold teeth pulled from the productive peasants that make life worth living are fingered to the blindfolded doormen, providing the first night's tip, the impetus to lift the velvet robe into a wondrous layer Hell?

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Side note 1: sensation fiction, called "domestic Gothic". Very cool find, that. The progenitor of the modern age soap opera, daytime drama, most obviously the Gothic-inspired Dark Shadows. Reference: Mary Elizabeth Braddon, one of the leaders in that field.

Side note 2: no Shirley Jackson? We Have Always Lived in the Castle And, there is no mention of the suspense psychodrama of Patricia Highsmith Strangers on a Train.

Side note 3: Probably should have mentioned all of the White Wolf RPG books, and provided a quick look at that sub-culture, which I believe is no longer around? Could have spent a bit more time on the vampire lit, as a whole, or touched on the great Supernatural Literature of the World 3 Volumes : An Encyclopedia.

Conclusion: Reference books are fun.

[Annji · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book for the A Level class. Rather than a series of essays, this is more like an encyclopaedia with a brief history of gothic at the beginning. Very useful but not one I could sit down and read from cover to cover. Wicked cover though - Nosferatu!

[Michael Shilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone interested in gothic lit should have a look. If you like theory -- post-colonial readings of the vampire, anyone? -- that helps.

[Heather Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource book, but some gothic elements are left out. I would have liked to see a section on the double or the doppelgänger.

[Sourdough Bread · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10

Good book to began understanding the nature of the gothic lit genre. The book is divided in four parts with the best parts are of course the essays on the gothic genre's development and list of authors. These were very insightful to read and good resource for anyone interested in reading gothic literature. The last sections of the book focus on themes and important writings of the genre are particularly dry adding no new commentary and repeating previously mentioned points in a less readable fashion. If I were using this for class, I would not read the final two sections.

[Rebeca Prats · Rating 4 out of 5]

para el TFG

se me olvidó marcar que me lo estaba leyendo IWBDKAKSNKW

[Adam Murakami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming at this outside of the literary context of research it is still a geatly applicable text to multiple fields.

Like most research texts it is up to the reader to make the most of the context and for a starting point of understanding of themes, psychology and follow up texts this is a fantastic starting point.

I believe it is written openly enough to be accessible to nearly anyone, which at times can be its flaw (subculture chapter would best be left alone) but still has a solid amount of opinion, information and facts to make it a well rounded text.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read, though it concentrates mostly on literature than the mix of Gothic that it portrayed in the introduction. I was expecting to read more about Gothic fashion, music, architecture and history.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stuff but a bit unclear at times. However it contained the greatest analysis of Stoker's Dracula you will ever read.

[Artisan Nali · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting as well as informative