Failed Rites of Passage in Early Gothic Fiction

Markus Oppolzer

ISBN 10: 3631611358 / ISBN 13: 9783631611357

Published by Peter Lang, 2011

About this Item

Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - This study applies Victor Turner's theory of liminality to an examination of early British Gothic fiction and its cultural context. Contrary to the widespread belief that the Gothic is escapist in nature, a close reading of novels such as William Godwin's Caleb Williams (1794), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) or Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) reveals that they actively engage with socio-political and educational debates of the time. Using the licence of fantastic literature, the Gothic sets up social experiments in which young, inexperienced protagonists have to face a variety of institutions. Under what circumstances are they willing to submit to these social orders Why are rites of passage often bound to fail These are questions consistently raised in this genre and explored in this study with reference to a wide range of political, legal, and educational treatises of the eighteenth century.

Seller Inventory # 9783631611357

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Failed Rites of Passage in Early Gothic Fiction
• Publisher: Peter Lang
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3631611358
• ISBN 13: 9783631611357
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 210W x 148H x 21D millimeters 210 millimeters width by 148 millimeters height by 21 millimeters depth
• Weight: 530 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This study applies Victor Turner’s theory of liminality to an examination of early British Gothic fiction and its cultural context. Contrary to the widespread belief that the Gothic is escapist in nature, a close reading of novels such as William Godwin’s Caleb Williams (1794), Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) or Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) reveals that they actively engage with socio-political and educational debates of the time. Using the licence of fantastic literature, the Gothic sets up social experiments in which young, inexperienced protagonists have to face a variety of institutions. Under what circumstances are they willing to submit to these social orders? Why are rites of passage often bound to fail? These are questions consistently raised in this genre and explored in this study with reference to a wide range of political, legal, and educational treatises of the eighteenth century.

About the Author

Markus Oppolzer holds a PhD from the University of Salzburg, where he is currently employed as a lecturer (Post-Doc) at the Department of English and American Studies, teaching British literature and its cultural context. Apart from Gothic fiction his research interests include comics, the comparative study of narrative strategies in various media, and the concept of unreliability.