Genre features of the gothic novel in English andRussian literature (M. G. Lewis, W. Godwin, V. F. Odoevsky)
S.D. Zhigornikova,
Moscow State Regional University,
field of study 44.04.05 Pedagogical education,
program of studies Literature education
Abstract. Thearticle deals with the characteristic genre features of the gothic novel inEnglish and Russian literature. M. G. Lewis and W. Godwin novels are consideredas examples of gothic English literature. The article also analyzes the proseof V. F. Odoevsky as one of the possible representatives of gothic literaturein Russia.
Keywords: gothic novel, English literature, genre features, M.G. Lewis, W. Godwin, V. F. Odoevsky.
Gothicnovel is a specific genre which appeared in England at the turn of XVIII-XIXcenturies, based on medieval romances of chivalry as a way of aestheticreflection of the world. For almost a hundred years, from 1762 to 1850, aboutsix hundred Gothic novels were published[1].The popularity of the genre determined its commercial success: books weretranslated into all European languages and published as collectors items. Mostof the low-quality works of the genre were sold as pamphlets at low prices,which no doubt contributed to the popularity of the Gothic novel, since theywere available to the poor and never stayed on the shelves of used bookshops.
However,commerce was not the only reason for the emergence of this unusual, stillpopular genre.
XIXcentury — the period of growth of social thought. Many issues, which hadpreviously worried people, began to be considered by the society in a new way.Interest in history and folklore as a reflection of the philosophical ideas ofthe ancestors was revived. Against this background a new literary movementemerged — romanticism.
Thevery emergence of this trend is dictated by mans desire to escape from thevanity of existence in the world of dreams and illusions, so such semanticaspects for this trend as sensuality and architectonics, undergo changes: theexalted passion of sentimentalism (the previous genre) romanticism opposes themystery of the origin of feelings; human unity with nature, characterized byeveryday life forms, is replaced by a move to foreign countries or to theMiddle Ages, to the ruins of ancient castles.
TheGothic novel is one of the most popular genres of Romanticism in which thehuman worldview is redefined: it proclaims agnosticism, which manifests itselfin the pressured awareness of the incognizability of the world. Thus,reality in the Romanticists was mystified[2]: it becameinaccessible to either rational or sensual perception. Human behaviour in suchworks was motivated by his mystical aspirations and his encounter with theworld. As such the genre of the Gothic novel was constantly undergoingmetamorphosis as it was in some respects experimental. Writers were alwayslooking for new images, ways of reflecting reality and following public taste[3].
Laterin its philosophical and aesthetic orientation the novel of horrorcame into polemical opposition to the works of the Enlightenment. The Gothicnovel rejects realism and leaves everything domestic out of its focus. Theobstacles the hero encounters in the horror novel discreditEnlightenment rationality. Hence, a phenomenal poetics is injected into theplot structure by the authors.
«Themysterious, the miraculous, the inexplicable, in the genre of the horrornovel become not only obligatory, but also structure-forming factors»[4]. The basicpathos of the gothic novel is an awareness of the impossibility ofcomprehending the mysteries of the world around us. The emergence ofsupernatural forces in the narrative is foreshadowed by the introduction of theprophecy motif.
Unlikethe Enlightenment writers, whose works do not take their chronotope beyond theauthors own country and present-day realities, gothic writersoften describe events of the distant past. Moreover, the plot in such novelsalways has a starting point that occurred before the main eventsdescribed. It is worth noting that historicity in the Gothic novel isconditional: the setting is Catholic countries, hence the criticism of theChurch. The country in which the events take place can be guessed from certainsigns, however, all the events described, the entourage can be correlated withany European country. This fact is in favour of the fact that the historicityand the role of the crowd, i.e. of the minor characters, in Gothicnovels is absolutely contingent.
TheGothic novel is also characterised by a relative didacticism which is levelledby a fantastical narrative. There is also a characteristic gradation: thedivision of heroes into noble and non-noble,sinners and righteous.
Inaddition to the real-supernatural there is another type of gothicnovel: pseudo-supernatural, in which otherworldly events are givenan objective interpretation. Metaphysical events in such works are a way ofcreating a certain emotional tension. The founders of this genre were C.Reeves, A. Radcliffe and others.
Contemporariesopinions on the significance of the Gothic novel, despite the popularity of thegenre, were divided: some critics considered horror novels essential to thehuman mind, others perceived the Gothic novel as a synonym for barbaric,chaotic and tasteless.
Despitemixed criticism, the genre of the gothic novel developed and was in greatdemand. The odious scholar of mystical literature, Montegrew Summers, in hisbook The Supernatural Omnimbus, created a classification of types of infernalphenomena: demonic forces and visitation with malicious purpose; ghostlyapparitions and mysterious illness; afterlife manifestations; the living deadand return from the other world; an undead soul; and a mysteriousprophecy. The chronotope of the gothic novel gives each of these phenomenatheir specific place: while the mysterious prophecy begins the tale, theafterlife completes it.
Itis not only literary scholars, philosophers and philologists who have taken aninterest in the gothic genre and tried to classify and regulate its features. Domestic researchers of this genre (A. Butuzov[5],N.A. Solovyova[6])on the basis of studying such works, distinguish the following plot features:
1. Thepolarization of heroes, providing for direct or indirect clash of heroes: therighteous engage in conditional or real confrontation with thesinners, characterizing the eternal New Testament conflict of goodand evil;
2.the image of the man of God, who is a person unable to resistinfernal temptations. To enhance the emotional effect, such a character may bea person directly associated with the church;
3. Thevillain (anti-hero) is an integral part of the horror, designed to increase thesuffering of the protagonist, who is his opposite. However, his transcendentpower and strength, which is emphasised throughout the narrative, turns out tobe imaginary in the finale.
Aparticular characteristic of the gothic novel is its alien spatiality. Its maincharacteristic is a space that is in opposition to ordinary, domesticdecoration. It is characterized by confusion, mystery and heterogeneity. Byheterogeneity of space we will understand the presence of secret, sometimesenchanted, ways, opposite each other borders of reality in a seemingly familiarto us everyday life.
Thedistortion of space is also characteristic of the Gothic novel, and isexpressed in two ways: on the one hand, it implies the intervention ofotherworldly, Bessovian forces, who try by all means to destroy the hero, onthe other hand, the distortion manifests itself in the appearance ofirrationality in the narrative: here we have in mind the ideas of deism, inwhich God and the Devil exist, but cannot intervene in human life, however,some forces still press on the hero. Thus, the space of the Gothic novelacquires a special inner dichotomy: a persons fate is both dependent on theintervention of some forces and in complete freedom from them.
TheGothic novel has developed its own specific genre properties, which include anachronous narrative structure and a stable set of motifs. The genre also formeda particular philosophy based on fatalism and the impossibility of changingones fate.
Theauthor of the Gothic genre, M. G. Lewis, in his novel Ambrosio or the Monk,focuses on the phenomenal, otherworldly as a way of revealing the psychology ofthe protagonist: Ambrosio, under the oppression of external circumstances,falls into sin; Lewis, pondering the motives behind the actions of his Monk,tries to analyse the root cause of criminal thinking[7].
Inthe plot system of the gothic novel it is important to pay particular attentionto the choice of character. Some writers, like Lewis, who have turned to thisgenre, choose a supporter of the church, the monk, as their protagonist.
Onthe one hand, such a choice is dictated by a particular aesthetic, sincemonasticism for most readers of the Gothic novel represented a special caste ofpeople who chose to live apart from society, observe strict monastic rules andexist in communion with a higher power. Such an image is indeed mysterious andinteresting because monastic cells are hidden from the eyes of outsiders, andthe secluded lifestyle of these people is fertile ground for fantasy[8].
Onthe other hand, the image of the monk in a Gothic novel is an allusion to thephilosophical and religious views of the author himself. In such works, themonastic order often appears as a satire on the orthodox dogmatic ideas of theChurch, and the sanctity of the holy fathers is questioned.
Thefaith-disbelief antithesis is demonstrative in Lewiss novel. Raising such atheme allows the author to open up the idea: on the one hand he criticises theinstitution of monasteries, on the other he raises the question of the power offaith in the human spirit and the desire to observe the vows laid upon oneself.
AnotherEnglish writer, William Godwin, in his novel Caleb Williams, continues thetradition of the Gothic novel.
Thegenre of Caleb Williams is defined by literary scholars in different ways: somecall it a realist novel, others call it a gothic novel.
Thisambiguity in the definition of the genre is not coincidental: the Gothicfeatures are expressed in the novel through only outward appearances and forms(the presence of mystery, crime, persecution, the villain secluded in thecastle, the feudal flavour itself), but the pathos of Godwins novel, althoughspecific, gravitates towards a Romantic worldview.
Similarin genre features is the novel Saint-Leon, which has allowed anumber of researchers to attribute it to the genre of gothic novel,and Godwin himself — to the pre-Romantic writers. However, we cannot callSaint-Leon a gothic novel[9].From the Gothic in it present only flavor and plot motif, while the images, thetreatment of the various peripeteias, the course of reasoning, philosophicalframework, ethical coloring of events have a pronounced romanticcoloring, and in many respects anticipate the emerging aesthetic andimaginative system of Romanticism[10].
InRussian literature, the genre of the Gothic novel was not in demand amongwriters. However, the development of Romanticism in Russian culture created aspecial genre — horror stories.
Havingabsorbed the traditions of European literary school, the domestic romanticismtook its own path of development and identified several artistic methods.
TheRomanticist writer creates as God does — unintentionally and uninhibitedly.This attitude of a writer to his works is dictated by the fact that romanticismproclaims the cult of personality freedom, which does not only apply to theheroes of his works. Following freedom, the Romanticist writer becomesdisillusioned with the real world: the bonds of dependence are broken, thehuman spirit is free, but it is still constrained by the slavery of capital,depersonalizing it.
Theideas of domestic romanticism are also reflected in mans relationship with theworld around him. From the point of view of the Romanticists philosophy, theindividual is characterized by absolute spiritual freedom, and anything thatbegs its will is viewed with hostility. This idea formed one of the mainconcepts of domestic Romanticism: in a collision with the external world, aperson may perish, but not lose his freedom.
Oneof the representatives of domestic romanticism includes one of the beststorytellers of the 19th century Vladimir Fedorovich Odoevsky.
V.F.Odoevsky created a number of mystical works. The narration in these works isbased on two principles: the first — the romantic principle of twoworldliness(The Dead Mans Mocking / «Насмешкамертвеца»,The Sylphide / «Сильфида»,The Salamander / «Саламандра»,Igosha / «Игоша», TheCosmorama / «Косморама»,etc.), the second — the didactic principle in which the supernatural isconditional (The Old Men, or the Island of Panhai / «Старики,илиОстровПанхаи»,The Tale of how dangerous for girls to walk in a crowd on NevskyProspect / «Сказка отом,какопаснодевушкамходитьтолпоюпоНевскомупроспекту»,etc.).
Inhis mystical stories Odoevsky tried to reflect the experience of familiar tohim mystics: Jacob Böhme, St. Maarten, Pordech and Franz Baader and to bring tothe mystical stories philosophical character.
Inthe novels Odoevsky embodied his own ideas that human instincts develop fromfolk legends and superstitions (Orlakh Peasant Woman / «Орлахскаякрестьянка»,1842), the mystical doctrines of the Middle Ages — alchemy and cabbalism — arepoetized by the author in the novels La Sylphide / «Сильфида»(1837) and The Salamander / «Саламандра»(1840). The influence of Schellings ideas on the equality of dark and divinepowers can be sensed in The Orlachian Peasant Girl,59 at the sametime Odoevskys vivid visions of the possessed girl reflect his scientificinterest in aberrations of the human psyche. The European flavour of the storyis dictated by the influence of German Romanticism (Novalis, Thieck,Hoffmann)60.
Someof Odoevskys mystical tales transmit folklore traditions (Igosha / «Игоша»).Odoevsky anticipates the satire of N.V. Gogol and writes The Tale of theDead Body, Who Does Not Know Who Belongs («Сказкаомёртвомтеле,неизвестнокомупринадлежащем»)(1833), ridiculing officialdom. In the didactic and allegorical Tale of HowDangerous it is for a Girl to Walk in a Crowd along Nevsky Prospect, one canguess the motif of depersonalisation and the pernicious influence of a cultureforeign to Russian personality.
Thus,the Gothic novel can be rightly considered a genre that not only absorbed thehistorical realities of the 18th and 19th centuries, but also served as acultural and aesthetic point of reference for all subsequent world literature,reflecting the pathos of the clash between the real and the otherworldly.Emerged as an experiment, as a response to a rejection of Enlightenment ideas,the Gothic novel, on the one hand, continued the ideas of the incognizabilityof existence, while on the other, it opposed them.
However,despite the fact that the Gothic novel reflects a number of important socialand aesthetic ideas, it was primarily formed as an entertainment genre in whichthe adventurous plot served as a way of assimilating moral truths.
References.
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3. MihalskayaN.P., Anikin G.V. : History of English Literature. Pre-Romanticism(pp. 177-179)
4. NatspokB. R. English gothic novel: to the question of the history andpoetics of the genre // Human Psychology. [Electronic resource]. Access mode:https://psibook.com/literatura/angliyskiy-goticheskiy-roman-k-voprosu-ob-istorii-i-poetike-zhanra.html(access date: 05.01.2023).
5. OvsyannikovM.F. Schelling F. Philosophy of Art. — M.: Mysl, 1966. — С.47-71.
6. SolovievaH.A. In the labyrinths of fantasy // Room with tapestries. English Gothicprose. Moscow: Pravda, 1991. 5-22 с.
7. ClarkK. The Gothic Revival. An Essay in the History of Taste. London: John Murray,1978. 202 p.; Brooks Chr. The Gothic Revival.Phaidon, 1999. 447 p.
