Our Forefathers looked upon Nature with more Reverence and Horrour, before the World was enlightened by Learning and Philosophy, and loved to astonish themselves with the Apprehensions of Witchcraft, Prodigies, Charms and Enchantments. There was not a village in England that had not a Ghost in it, the Church-yards were all haunted, every large Common had a Circle of Fairies belonging to it, and there was scarce a Shepherd to be met with who had not seen a Spirit.
Ideas about the Supernatural, including those found in orthodox religious theology and superstitious beliefs, came into direct conflict with the rational ideals of the Enlightenment. The friction resulted in disillusionment and discord and there was a scramble to shore up the systems in place. In the midst of this disagreement, the Gothic novel emerged as a new genre of writing, and it directly addressed this highly contested topic. Each author had a different impetus for choosing this particular mode of expression with its unique conventions: didacticism, political commentary, and the revision of myth are among those most often postulated, but the list is hardly exhaustive. Further, the historical frame for the Gothic spans from 1764 to the Present and this also has a great impact upon the content of the novels. Thus, the genre is anything but homogeneous, though many critics have tried to tie up the loose ends into one knot of explanation.
I would like to posit that belief and the suspension of disbelief are central to the Gothic. The credence of and disbelief in the Supernatural manifests itself in connection to ideas of the Sublime, to connotations of Sensibility, to the core of the Creation myth, and in theological concepts about damnation. My sections are divided accordingly.
The
Monk #1 (Castle)
The
Monk #2 (Lucifer)
Confessions
of a Justified Sinner (Fiends)
The
Monk #3 (The Bleeding Nun)
Secondary excerpts:
Brooks,
"Virtue and Terror" (The Bleeding Nun)
Varnado,
"The Idea of the Numinous in Gothic Literature" #1 (Definition of Numinous)
Varnado,
"The Idea of the Numinous in Gothic Literature" #2 (Holy)
Voller,
"Todorov among the Gothics: Structuring the Supernatural Moment" #1 (Burke
& Sublime)
Morris,
"Gothic Sublimity" #1 (Death)
Morris,
"Gothic Sublimity" #2 (Terror)
Voller,
"Todorov among the Gothics: Structuring the Supernatural Moment" #2 (Supernatural
Sublime)
The
Castle of Otranto
The
Italian #1 (Superstition)
The
Mysteries of Udolpho #1 (Sea Nymph)
The
Mysteries of Udolpho #2 (Justice)
The
Monk #1 (Saint Clare)
The
Monk #2 (Matilda)
The
Monk #3 (Madonna)
Conger,
"Sensibility Restored"
Frankenstein
#1 (Creation)
Porte,
"In the Hands of an Angry God"
Vathek
#1 (50 Children)
Secondary excerpts:
Hyland,
"Vathek, Heaven and Hell" #1 (Damnation)
McWhir,
"The Gothic Transgression of Disbelief"
Clery,
"The Supernatural Explained"
Geary,
"From Providence to Terror" #1 (Lewis)
Geary,
"The Supernatural In Gothic Fiction" #2 (Skepticism)
Brooks,
"Virtue and Terror" #1 (Sacred)
Brooks,
"Virtue and Terror" #2 (Erotic)
Porte,
"In the Hands of an Angry God"
3.
Creator
and Creation
Primary Excerpts:
Frankenstein
#2 (Daemon)
Frankenstein
#3 (Secret)
Melmoth
the Wanderer
Frankenstein
#4 (Misery)
Secondary Excerpts:
Levine,
"The Ambiguous Heritage of Frankenstein
Hennelly,
"Melmoth the Wanderer and Gothic Existentialism" #1 (Demonic Quest)
Hennelly,
"Melmoth the Wanderer and Gothic Existentialism" #2 (Immalee)
4.
Death
and Damnation
Primary excerpts:
Confessions
of a Justified Sinner #1 (Sinner)
Confessions
of a Justified Sinner #2 (Reprobation)
The
Monk #1 (Daemon)
The
Castle of Otranto
The
Monk #2 (Death)
Vathek
#2 (Hope)
Frank,
"The Gothic Vathek" #1 (Freedom)
Frank,
"The Gothic Vathek" #2 (Descent)
Geary,
"From Providence to Terror"
Hyland,
"Vathek, Heaven and Hell" #2 (Hell)