Gothic review - 1035 Words

‘To understand the chronicles they must be read as gay’ , at least this is the incredibly bold statement made by George Haggerty in his chapter on Anne Rice and the Queering of Culture in his book Queer Gothic. There is no denying that Anne Rice’s Vampires have a lot to do with homosexuality and Haggerty’s highlighting this is in no way a new criticism, but the claim that is must be read as gay is entirely dismissive of the many other sexual paradigms that exist within The Vampire Chronicles. To begin with, his referral of Lestat as a ‘gay predator’ seems unfair in its definition. The fact of his being a vampire automatically asserts him as a ‘predator’, but his relationships are not exclusively homosexual. He is a vampire that merely†¦show more content†¦Yet, in Blood Canticle, written five years after Haggerty’s essay, it is Rowan who Lestat finally and selflessly loves – selflessness not being an attribute we have known greatly in his character until this point. As Haggerty says, Rice is ‘eroticizing the gay man’ whilst at the same time undermining it by portraying the homosexual relationships as heavily sexual, violent and deviant in comparison to the more nurturing, romantic relationship Lestat has with Rowan. The Vampires in the novels explore sexual deviancy, but are always ultimately punished in doing so. The homosexual parentage of Louis and Lestat to Claudia and of Armand to Sybelle and Benji are both destroyed in their own way. Claudia and Louis’ final rejection of Lestat and Armand’s failure in being able to protect Sybelle and Benji from Marius, are both examples of homosexual families being explored and then finally being punished for going against the accepted social norm of 20th century culture. This supports Haggerty’s claim that readers want to ‘explore unauthorized desires and at the same time see them bleed’, by exploring and then destroying homosexual relationships repeatedly throughout the collection. When reading the characters as ‘homosexual’ as Haggerty suggests, this punishment dynamic makes it unavoidable to find truth in Haggerty’s claim that RiceShow MoreRelated Comparing Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher a nd Taylor’s Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time1069 Words   |  5 PagesVarious authors develop their stories using gothic themes and characterizations of this type to lay the foundation for their desired reader response. Although Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† and Peter Taylor’s â€Å"Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time† are two completely different narratives, both of these stories share a commonality of gothic text representations. The stories take slightly different paths, with Poe’s signifying traditional gothic literature and Taylor approaching his storyRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte1203 Words   |  5 Pagesconsidered to be a gothic novel. Gothic literature took place mostly in England from 1790 to 1830, falling into the category of Romantic literature. The Gothic takes its roots from previous horrifying writing that extends back to the Middle Ages and can still be found in writings today by many authors includ ing Charlotte Bronte. The strong description of horror, abuse, and gruesomeness in Gothic novels reveals truths to readers through realistic fear. The main characteristics of Gothic literature include:Read MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte1733 Words   |  7 PagesWithin the specter of the Gothic fictions arises the atmosphere of gloom, terror, and mystery with some elements of uncanny challenging reality.At certain points, the interactions between the conventions of the Gothic fictions with other  thematic, ideological, and/or symbolic functions of the narrative  would rather be challenging. However, though the analysis of  Jane Eyre  written by  Charlotte Bronte, certain factors come into focus.The novel of Charlotte Bronte entitled Jane Eyre has showcased aRead MoreThe Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe852 Words   |  4 Pageshis writing. Also, placing him into a certain style or literary movement would give us some really tough hours. Poe can be considered eithe r a Romantic or Gothic writer but we could find a number of arguments and counterarguments for this matter. Poe, in fact, reinterpreted the whole Gothic horror style and created a unique, distinct brew of Gothic fiction, Romanticism and his own gloomy mind. On the basis of A Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart, we can deduct that despite the uniqueness ofRead MoreAnalysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Tell Tale Heart 1291 Words   |  6 PagesWhat honestly makes a novel gothic? Is it the madness, the horror or the secrets hidden in the story line that does it? Individually when each of you close your eyes and visualise a book that has been flicked by hundreds and has been adored what comes to mind? The famous Edgar Allan Poe stands out in the history of gothic texts, especially his novel the â€Å" Tell-Tale Heart†. However there is a numerous amount of contemporary texts based off this genre including Tim Burton’s â€Å" Vincent†. In this presentationRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte1374 Words   |  6 PagesJane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Within the specter of the Gothic fictions arises the atmosphere of gloom, terror, and mystery with some elements of uncanny challenging reality. One major characteristic function of the Gothic fictions is to open the fiction to the realm of the irrational and perverse narratives, obsessions, and nightmarish terrors that hide beneath the literally civilized mindset in order to demonstrate the presence of the uncanny existing in the world known rationally through experienceRead MoreAngela Carter, the Snow Child Symbolism Essay1604 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Some readers may suggest that ‘The Snow Child’ is a simple one dimensional Gothic narrative, whilst others might argue that it is a complex allegory. What is your response to the text? Carter expresses many aspects of the gothic genre in her short story ‘The Snow Child’. However the play doesn’t merely consist of gothic themes such as the supernatural, incest or the sublime, like many critics may suggest, but relies on an allegory which by definition can make the narrative much more than whatRead MoreSymbolism in the Gothic Art Movement Essay1747 Words   |  7 PagesThe Gothic Art movement was not just a style of art but an extremely influential period containing its own complex history. The term is used to describe buildings and objects whose forms are based upon a range of characteristics from the middle of the 12th to the end of the 15th century. Gothic style was a development of the Romanesque yet it was Renaissance humanists who first used it as a disparaging term to describe what they saw as the barbaric architecture. With Gothic art being viewed throughRead MoreMary Shelley s Modern Prometheus1365 Words   |  6 Pagesthe scientific an d yet supernatural novel. Indeed, the novel proved to be one of the first of many to combine such elements of science and supernaturalism in such a way. Professor John Mullan of University College London, in his examination of the Gothic novel, asserted, â€Å"Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) gave a scientific form to the supernatural formula.† Mullan’s assertion is accurate in its classification of Frankenstein in overlapping genres – the story itself bore much resemblance to classicRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte1186 Words   |  5 Pagesconsidered to be a gothic novel. Gothic literature took place mostly in England from 1790 to 1830, falling into the category of Romantic literature. The Gothic takes its roots from previous horrifying writing that extends back to the Middle Ages and can still be found in writings today by many authors including Charlotte Bronte. The strong description of horror, abuse, and gruesomeness in Gothic novels reveals truths to readers through realistic fear. The main characteristics of Gothic literature include: