American Gothic: New Interventions in a National Narrative

by Robert K. Martin (Editor)

In America as in Britain, the rise of the Gothic represented the other - the fearful shadows cast upon Enlightenment philosophies of common sense, democratic positivism, and optimistic futurity. Many critics have recognized the centrality of these shadows to American culture and self-identification. American Gothic, however, remaps the field by offering a series of revisionist essays associated with a common theme: the range and variety of Gothic manifestations in high and popular art from the roots of American culture to the present. Drawing widely on contemporary theory - particularly revisionist views of Freud such as those offered by Lacan and Kristeva - this volume ranges from the well-known Gothic horrors of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne to the popular fantasies of Stephen King and the postmodern visions of Kathy Acker. Special attention is paid to the issues of slavery and race in both black and white texts, including those by Ralph Ellison and William Faulkner. In the view of the editors and contributors, the Gothic is not so much a historical category as a mode of thought haunted by history, a part of suburban life and the lifeblood of films such as The Exorcist and Fatal Attraction.

Genres: Gothic

264 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1998

Reviews

[Isadora Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eclectic and interesting collection of essays about the rise of American gothic fiction and film since the 19th century, reasons for its popularity and endurance, the intersection of literary theory with gothic sensibilities, gothic and a national narrative, psychoanalytic theory (Freud, Lacan, Kristeva), material culture studies (namely, through prosopopoeia), and essays about various high and low masters and texts of the "genre" (Poe, Hawthorne, Faulkner, Stephen King, Thomas Harris, etc.). Eric Savoy and William Veeder kick off the collection with two well positioned essays about the "work" that Gothic fiction does on the individual and national consciousness; their discussions of allegory (Savoy) and healing (Veeder) are worth the collection alone. The remaining essays can be a mixed bag of one's favorite and not-so-favorite authors, issues and texts, but all are well written and present various inroads to approaching this field. Collection is well balanced overall, and ideas flow easily from essay to essay. Recommended as a primer, companion to a gothic literature course, or for anyone studying in the field.

[Katherine Addison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lit crit is as prone to trends and fads as any other human endeavor, but the thing about good literary criticism is that it doesn't go out of date. The two essays in this collection that were great were great; the rest ranged from good to boring to my GOD that's a lot of Lacan. And the one essay I deeply disliked that was so busy disapprovingly theorizing the discourse about serial killers that it forgot that the victims were real people, too. I mean, theorize Ted Bundy all you want, but don't forget about Kimberly Leach.

Maggie Kilgour's essay, "Dr. Frankenstein Meets Dr. Freud," was a wide-ranging assessment of the gothic and its tropes that spends most of its time with The Silence of the Lambs. (Which, of COURSE it's gothic, how could it not be?) Kim Ian Michasiw's essay, "Some Stations of Suburban Gothic," aside from not being afraid to be funny, was a really interesting use of theory (unlike the crop of Lacanians). I'm not sure I entirely understood it---if you asked me the difference between a "station" and a "locale," I don't think I could tell you, except that stations are given to you/imposed on you by the social order; a locale is something you make for yourself---but I WANTED to. I may in fact go reread it and see if I can get my brain to wrap around the theory a little better.

I have a private list on Amazon called "gothic." It's so long now that I can't remember what's on it.

[Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

AMERICAN GOTHIC: NEW INTERVENTIONS IN A NATIONAL NARRATIVE is an attempt to apply modern scholarship - including postmodern in some instances - to the classic works of the genre and thus reinterpret them in a new light. While the established and much-discussed figures of Poe and Hawthorne are present here, this collection of textbook also moves more up to date, with analyses of the likes of William Faulkner, Stephen King and Thomas Harris. The essays have a strong psychoanalytic angle and frequently reference the theories of Lacan and Freud, which makes this something of a dry read at times. The chapter on real-life serial killers is particularly illuminating, but overall I found it heavy going.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most volumes of collected essays, this was a little uneven. Nevertheless, the topic was great and I very much enjoyed some of the essays. It is literary criticism, so intended for a scholarly readership. Further comments may be found at: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.