Well, it has been great fun learning and sharing all I have learned about all things Gothic. Of course, there is much more to learn and see and do, so I encourage all of you to keep at it; I know I sure will! I will never again look at even the most common things–like churches or movies–the same, because if there is one thing that I have taken away from this experience, it is that the Gothic is lurking everywhere. Happy hunting!
Signing off,
Gothic Girl
There are numerous places on the Internet to read more about the Gothic. After much surfing, I’ve found some interesting sites:
This could be a good resource if you are looking to learn more about Gothic authors and texts.
This website explores different elements of Gothic literature, such as women in Gothic novels,
outsiders, vampires, and even a closer look at Anne Rice.
Entertain yourself by looking around this “Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained.”
Read about this mysterious ritual associated with the death of Edgar Allen Poe.
This is Project Gutenberg’s page for Gothic fiction. Read full texts of certain Gothic works!
Enjoy!
I’ve just come from a very insightful panel at the House of the Seven Gables which discussed Gothic literature and Second Life.
Kabarax Ninetails, who led the discussion, posed a series of questions to the three highly qualified panelists: Desideria Stockton, Eloise Pasteur, and Zenobia Paine. Each of the panelists is an expert in her field. Desideria, an English professor, is one of the creators of the Literature Alive! site in Second Life; Eloise, a professional Second Life designer and constructor, built Seton Hall’s House of the Seven Gables; and Zenobia, chair of the English department at Seton Hall, is instrumental in Seton Hall’s involvement in Second Life.
The questions ranged from general inquiries about Gothic literature to the building of our house in Second Life. The audience members were also given a chance to ask their own questions about the Gothic, Second Life, and literature in general. A lot of information was covered in the hour-long session, and it was unfortunate that it had to end!
Thanks to Kabarax Ninetails for leading an insightful discussion!
Things are happening at the House of the Seven Gables! I’ve been wandering around the house and have noticed some new things popping up.
If you go to the entrance of the House of the Seven Gables, you might notice a new sign with the numbers “124.” Rickus Maximus has set up a scavenger hunt having to do with Gothic literature and confined feminine space, one of Gothic literature’s major themes. Scour the house and grounds to find and collect objects that have to do with these confined feminine spaces, and when you have reached the end you can take a quiz to measure how much you’ve learned! While doing the scavenger hunt, I took some pictures, but I wouldn’t want to spoil any of the fun….so give the scavenger hunt a try!
Near the entrance to the house you might also notice a dead body. Yes, you read that correctly: a dead body. Veggey Burger and Gilead Destiny have also set up something new around the house. Help to solve this murder mystery–and learn some things about Gothic literature–by taking their horse and carriage tour around the island. Maybe you could solve the mystery!
Here I am, taking a ride on the carriage:
These are not the only exciting things happening in Second Life. Check back for more updates!
Until next time…
After reading comments about the origin of the term “Gothic” (see last post), I became more curious about Gothic art and architecture, so I did some more research. It seems that Gothic art and, more importantly, architecture, began in France in the twelfth century and spread throughout Europe for the next three centuries. (That’s a long time!) Gothic architecture is marked by high, pointed arches, lots of space, and an interesting and abundant use of light. Features like flying buttresses, stained glass windows (many Gothic buildings are cathedrals), rose windows, and sculpture were also important to Gothic architecture.
One of the first notable Gothic buildings is Saint-Denis Basilica in France. Take a look:
Another example is the Cathedral of Chartres, also in France:
Even at first glance, there are lots of similarities between the two buildings: the rose window, other tall, thin windows, and the general shape and height of the building.
Like Gothic literature, Gothic architecture continues today. Here is a New Jersey church built in the Gothic style:
Source:
“Gothic Architecture and Art.” Colombia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2008. High Beam Encyclopedia. 28 Apr. 2008 <http://www.encyclopedia.com/beta/doc/1E1-Gothicar.html>.
Image locations:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/SaintDenisExterior.jpg/250px-SaintDenisExterior.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Chartres_1.jpg/250px-Chartres_1.jpg
http://www.sthenry.net/sitebuilder/images/StHenry-684×534.jpg
With all this talk about Gothic, both in literature and in the mainstream, I began to wonder about its origins. While doing some research on Gothic literature, I was reading an article by an author, Jerrold Hogle, who says that the term Gothic was basically started as a derogatory term to describe a certain type of architecture. I’ll quote him directly because, even though his explanation is lengthy, he puts it well:
…’Gothic’ has been quite deliberately fraudulent and shifty every since the term was first used to describe a medieval architectural style, and, from there, a vaguely medieval way of life more or less connected to that style. ‘Gothic’ was invented as a pejorative descriptor by Italian art historians of the fifteenth century to associate the pointed-arch and castellated modes of architecture from the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries with the northern Germanic tribes of ‘Goths’ or ‘Visigoths’ who helped decimate imperial Rome, the classical styles of which these Italian scholar-artists were working to revalue and restore partly by describing intervening styles as less civilized, and, in the case of the ‘Gothic’, as downright ‘rustic.’ (2)
If this is true—that the term Gothic was used in a biased way that intended to put down the architectural style of the Visigoths—then I find it quite interesting that the term would come to describe a type of literature which has as one of its main elements the critiquing of what’s wrong in the particular society from which it springs.
Source:
Hogle, Jerrold E. “Gothic Studies Past, Present, and Future.” Gothic Studies 1.1 (1999): 1-135. MLA. OCLC. Seton Hall University. 21 Apr. 2008.
…I have been scouring The House of the Seven Gables for the latest developments!
Gothic Girl here, and I’m coming to you from the exterior of The House of the Seven Gables, where Daphne Tomorrow and Nanina Dallagio have begun their project on the female gothic. Click on their floating cubes plastered with creepy images of women to learn about some of Gothic literature’s most “beloved” characters, including Beloved herself, Poe’s Madeline, Gilman’s Jane, and Du Maurier’s Mrs. Danvers.
Besides Daphne and Nanina’s projects, many other projects are being constructed all over the property. Check back for more updates!
Last week I pondered the significance of the ubiquitous haunted house. Of course, contemporary audiences are familiar with this being a part of many stories and films. However, there are other, lesser obvious, elements of the Gothic novel that continue in today’s media.
One in particular is of interest to me, because it didn’t strike me as overtly Gothic: the interrupted wedding. Surely many of you are familiar with the interrupted wedding: two people are getting married, and right in the middle of the ceremony someone—usually on behalf of the bride—unexpectedly stops it. Critic Ruth Bienstock Anolik calls the interrupted wedding a “recurring motif” (27) in Gothic literature. Indeed, the interrupted wedding is something that occurs often not only in literature, but in television and film. Who would have ever thought of Benjamin Braddock (think The Graduate) as a Gothic hero?
Source:
Anolik, Ruth Bienstock. “The Missing Mother: The Meanings of Maternal Absence in the Gothic Mode.” Modern Language Studies 33.1-2 (2003): 24-43. MLA. OCLC. Seton Hall University. 21 Apr. 2008.
The Gothic is not just found in literature; even today, we can experience the Gothic, especially in film.
One common element of both Gothic fiction and film is space, or, in most cases, the house. A house plays an important part in many Gothic tales, including Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lovely House,” Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, and Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, among, I’m sure, many others. In all of these works, the houses are not any ordinary houses; if they are not outright haunted, there is at least something strange about them.
It’s interesting how the idea of the haunted space continues to chill audiences. Commonly, contemporary horror movies feature a house which is haunted (or at least creepy). Movies like The Haunting, The Shining, The Grudge, and even lighter films like Beetlejuice and Casper feature haunted houses.
So what exactly is with the fascination with haunted houses? Perhaps it is an obsession with the supernatural; or, maybe it expresses a fear of the unknown, especially if that unknown is malicious and could invade what is supposed to be a safe space. Whatever the case, the element of the haunted house continues to successfully gain and keep people’s attention.
Title quote source: The Shining. Dir. Stanley Kubric. Perf. Jack Nicholson. 1980.
Greetings! Gothic Girl here!
I’m blogging from the House of the Seven Gables, Seton Hall University’s domain in Second Life. The House of the Seven Gables, which is also an American Gothic novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was built with the intention of creating a space in Second Life which demonstrates the ideas and themes behind American Gothic literature. Not only does the house embody themes of American Gothic literature in general, but it also reflects the characters, rooms, and other spaces within Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables.
There are many spaces both inside and outside the house which are available for exploring. Not only are these spaces the imagined representation of Hawthorne’s house, but they are also interactive learning spaces. If you were to take a walk throughout the house and its grounds, you could read informative note cards, take interactive quizzes, play a harpsichord, and, depending on your taste, play with torture devices!
I’ve taken some postcards from my favorite places in The House of the Seven Gables.
Here I am at the garden, where you can learn about the “language” of flowers. Did you know that planting flowers like lilies, pansies, and chrysanthemums carries its own meaning?
This is me playing the harpsichord, an instrument which plays an important role in Hawthorne’s novel.
Not being a very adventurous soul, I decided to take my picture in front of the dungeon rather than in it. But, if you’re up for a thrill, enter the dungeon to see some torture devices.
Here I am in the kitchen, where you can learn about cast iron stoves, read popular recipes of the time, or sit down to a feast.
The House of the Seven Gables is pretty big, and frankly, I’m exhausted! I’m taking a rest on Phoebe’s bed. I’ll see you next time!
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