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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Gothic Text, November 23, 2010
The OED defines "Gothic" as "very gloomy or horrifying". Despite the fact that this is a good general definition and everyone would agree with it, there is a lot more to "Gothic" and especially the gothic literary tradition than this description implies. As broad as a definition could be given to describe the gothic, as wide an array of books and essays have been published on this subject. In his book The Gothic Text, Marshall Brown succeeds in providing a new approach to the subject of gothic fiction. Brown draws not only on the English-speaking tradition of gothic stories, but takes into account German and French-speaking authors as well. By also drawing on philosophy and psychology, in particular on Kant's and Freud's theories about consciousness and the uncanny, respectively, Brown manages to highlight a slightly different aspect compared to other books on gothic texts. However, it is this rather philosophical and "foreign" approach that might be difficult for readers who are not very familiar with the gothic genre and/or the German and French languages and philosophies.
In his introduction, Brown already outlines the structure of his book and informs the reader about his approaches. He is aware that some of his approaches might seem unconventional. However, over the course of the book, he succeeds with his presentation and it is exactly this variety of approaches that makes The Gothic Text so appealing and valuable.
Brown starts off by presenting his three theses on Gothic fiction. Before he elaborates on those, however, he immediately draws the reader's attention to the fact that Gothic literature is not limited to the English-speaking world of the romantic decades (1). On the contrary, he points out correctly that there is also a Gothic tradition in, for example, France with Balzac and Germany and Austria with Hoffmann and Kleist. He continues by arguing that "the gothic ... remains the one form of literary endeavor that was not then and should not now be divided into national schools" (2). It is essential for the reader to understand this context from the beginning because Brown will continue to combine and compare writers from different cultural backgrounds without insisting on a national distinction. After having established this important point, Brown lists his three theses of Gothic fiction. "1. Romantic gothic fiction is not exciting". "2. Gothic novels are not ghost stories". "3. Gothic novels are not women's writings" (3-6). Brown explains his third, and controversial thesis by stating that "much of the finest fiction by women is not best regarded as gothic" (6) and that the majority of gothic writers were men. In the course of the book, Brown elaborates these arguments.
Almost half of The Gothic Text deals with Kant, his philosophy, and its importance in the context of gothic fiction. Brown rightfully states that "[t]he terrors of gothic demons are great, but greater yet is the power of human invention that imagined them; the gothic novelists open to view real powers that lie beyond experience" (12). Before going into Kant in more detail, Brown takes a close look at Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto in Part One of The Gothic Text. According to Brown, what really matters in Walpole's novel is "the genuinely human way in which his characters react to even the most inhuman of events" (31). Nevertheless, Brown does not fail to highlight the fact that Walpole's novel is in fact not that amazing but that its success is based on the fact that it was something very new at the time of its publication.
By discussing Kant's philosophy in terms of the gothic, Brown provides a new and compelling perspective of this much-studied genre. His arguments here are very valuable for readers who already have firm background knowledge about gothic literature. For novices it might be hard at times to follow the argument, especially because in order to completely grasp Kant's (and Brown's ideas, too, in this context) it is also a huge advantage to know some German. Brown continues his inclusion of Kantian philosophy by briefly introducing Kant's disciples and by discussing Kantian philosophy with regards to medicine.
Brown discusses a number of gothic texts, including Honoré de Balzac's The Wild Ass's Skin, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann's The Devil's Elixirs, Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer, and William Godwin's Caleb Williams. Even for readers unfamiliar with these texts, the author provides a good overview and close reading.
The final part of the book, is appropriately called "Consequences". In this part, Brown moves on to discussing some of the best known gothic fiction. He starts with Ann Radcliffe's The Italian and concludes that "[b]ad writing is good for the genre [...] The successful gothics do their most characteristic works when they seem merely symptomatic, repetitious, or bland" (182). The second book that most readers would clearly identify as a gothic story is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Numerous books and essays have been written about the hidden or allegorical meaning of Frankenstein, but Brown realizes that "Frankenstein, like its monster, grips by virtue of its ungraspability" (183).
The conclusion, or "Postscript", of The Gothic Text takes the reader in a radically new direction by considering Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust a gothic play. However, after following Brown's argument, his propositions seem plausible and the reader feels indeed is if his horizon had been broadened within a mere thirteen pages.
Overall, this work can definitely be recommended for those readers fascinated by gothic fiction and philosophy. Brown writes in a very engaging way that makes this book a good and compelling read. Despite the fact that it would be useful for the reader to have some knowledge of German and/or French, this book seems to be a valuable source for students and teachers alike from a number of different fields.
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