The Gothic Wanderer: From Transgression to Redemption; Gothic Literature from 1794 - Present
This excellent 2012 book, The Gothic Wanderer, by Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D, provides an astute analysis of Gothic Literature, past and present, intriguing to me in terms of The French Revolution and the Masculine and Feminine forms of the novel. He also has a website that is a great resource: https://thegothicwanderer.wordpress.com
I highly recommend reading his work to understand some elements of what the Gothic really is. Below I briefly introduce some of the topics he covers that I feel are particularly fascinating.
After the French Revolution and the fall of the monarchy sanctioned by God, the micro-monarchy of the patriarchal household seemed precarious. Gothic novels played out the fear of dissolution of the family unit and beyond. Even British novelists were paying close attention to the changes in European status quo and tried to figure out how to reconfigure families to be sustainable, and they found comfort in brotherhoods, though the Rosicrucian brotherhood were suspected of upturning the monarchy and creating a disconcerting chaos. (In addition, male dominance of the home was being questioned by women.)
The novels focused on the desire for forbidden knowledge, which sometimes was accepted but more often was condemned as going against nature, especially when it arose from hubris. Gothic novels have obviously included at their core the desire to understand secrets of their own families and of the families and institutions they align with. The lack of support for illegitimate children is a common motif and unexpected inheritance became a way to reward heroes. The discovery that characters in the novels are related is a popular trope, and sometimes this revolved around incest.
Yet, at the same time as hungering for familial security, the novelists portrayed the common desire to revolutionize the patriarchy and particularly the way only the oldest son received inheritance. They wanted to find ways to make families continue to work out even after changing that convention. Some novelists embraced and others feared rebellion against God’s decrees. But in general, though they didn’t care for conspirators, they valued the moral overthrow of the oppression of nobility and imposing power of the Catholic church. Family values became edgy.
The Rosicrucian Gothic wanderer looks for the key to endless life, youthfulness and grand social power by discovering the philosopher’s stone and alchemical elixirs. While Rosicrucianism doesn’t include that policy, some secret societies, cults, covens and other groups among the elite still supposedly draw in life force from traumatized dying victims like the Mayans and Aztecs once did. And some New Age powders, spells, practices and mojo are still sold with the promise of ultra-longevity, Ascension, and omnipotence.
Comic/Feminine/Gothic Romance standards are delineated in contrast to Tragic/Masculine/Gothic Horror expectations. Feminine Gothics traditionally end in marriage and contentment with the social order, the creation of a network. Masculine Gothics destroy happy complacency with madness, impulsivity, transgressions and the search for forbidden knowledge. The tragic hero never learns his lessons and fails and after breaking taboos, is left to wander outside the fold.
Feminine Gothics are forgiving of people who transgress for the purpose of revolution; the wanders can return in a hero’s journey and can be redeemed. At first, Masculine Gothics portrayed the distrust of the disordered outcome of revolutions, but over the course of time, that perspective softened.
I highly recommend reading the Tyler's website and supporting his work by buying The Gothic Wanderer, which goes far beyond what I've mentioned here and applies the concepts in detail to one Gothic novel after another.
