Ann Radcliffe and the Gothic Novel

Ann Radcliffe is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Gothic Novel. Works such as The Romance of the Forest (1791), and The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) consolidated her as a leading exponent of an emerging genre. Well-known because of her innovative style, Radcliffe’s novels were characterized not only by the use of the sublime: terror, mystery and suspense, but also by the use of the sentimental novel’s principles, combination that was approved by readers, strongly criticized by experts and parodied by other writers.

According to David Durant’s ideas in his book Ann Radcliffe and the Conservative Gothic “Radcliffe was a conservative writer in what now is considered a revolutionary movement”. Her narrative, full of virtuous heroes and heroines, order, emotions and moral lessons, constitutes a proof of her traditional style. Looking for new vehicles to entertain readers, Radcliffe managed to combine these features with gothic elements, creating a new genre that later would find in Radcliffe’s depictions of supernatural landscapes, scary situations and sinister locales the most important alleys to charm the audience.   

That is why experts agree that Radcliffe’s best achievement was the introduction of supernatural elements in the novel. But as a forerunner of the Romantic Movement, her style was incomplete. To many literary critics “Ann Radcliffe’s various novels now seem more like childish fantasies than evocations of primal horror” (Durant, 1), however, these “childish fantasies” were the foundations that made possible the development of the Gothic as a genre.  

Virtue and Virginity: Female’s Tickets to Marriage

 The eighteenth century is marked by the rise of the sentimental novel, a new gender that focusing on the feelings and emotions of the characters and the main issues of its society, is going to originate an enormous passion for reading and  literature in general.  Themes such as: fear, prudence, morality, melancholy, innate goodness and chastity came into vogue, but the most relevant of all was, undoubtedly, virtue. It became the central topic of sentimental novels, especially in Richardson's novel Pamela where it was portrayed, in a peculiar way.

Female virtue, paraphrasing Corrinne Harol’s ideas in the essay Faking It: Female Virginity and Pamela's Virtue, was completely related to sexuality and the body. Virtuous equal to virginity constitutes a distinctive aspect that can be seen all through Richardson’s novel, where, according to Harol’s point of view “Pamela’s heroic attempts to preserve her virginity produce evidence about her interiority and thus allow readers to evaluate her virtue … virtue depends upon preservation of her virginity” (Harol, 2)  a fact that Pamela defends till the end, knowing it would be her “free pass” to happiness and a good marriage and consequently to a better future.

As a reflection of the society of her time, Pamela embodies all the women whose unique option to achieve respect, prestige and wealth is through a good marriage, possible only for those who keep their virginity in soul and body. But it is not the first time we see this. In The Rape of the Lock we find Clarissa struggling to preserve her virginity, this time, equal to her physical appearance, in order to get married and maintain her social status in the high-class society.

This is one of the ways in which the literature of this period develops. By portraying the main issues of its society, it will not only achieve a wider public and acceptance but also its maximum splendour, its golden days.     

Bibliography:

- Harol, Corrinne. Faking It: Female Virginity and Pamela's Virtue. Eighteenth-Century

              Fiction: Vol. 16: Iss. 2, Article 3. 2004

  

Swift's Satirical Exposure of Human Pride

After being in the land of the Lilliputians, Gulliver’s size moves from a colossus to an insignificant insect that finds himself in the land of Brobdingnag, where, as soon as he arrives, is turned into a domestic pet due to his tininess.

Once again we discover Swift making reference to the issue of “size”, this time from a different point of view. According to K.M. Jan and Shabnam Firdaus in Perspectives on Gulliver’s Travels “Swift concentrates on the superiority of the giants and the insignificance of Gulliver” revealing “human reality as ridiculous and infinitely small”.

Gulliver’s insignificance is perfectly seen all through the book. He is described as a pet, a freak of nature, a baby, even as a doll. Evidently, all these experiences, paraphrasing David Daiches’ ideas in A Critical History of English Literature: the Restoration to 1800, are used by Swift to explore what is considered one of the major themes of this second story: the satirical exposure of human pride and pretention.

 In several occasions we will find Gulliver boasting about England’s history and culture, proud of their achievements even when they are destructive ones as in the case of the gunpowder, but each time also, Gulliver will find the king, shattering his pride with moral comments that show the readers the nature of those giants. About it the authors of Perspectives on Gulliver’s Travels make an interesting observation “The moral superiority and the intellectual clarity of the King of Brobdingnag are far superior to those of Gulliver. Gulliver’s pride is a common failing of man which needs to be humbled”.

Another example can be seen when Gulliver is used as a doll. Even though he has been treated as a slave by his first master, has worked hard entertaining people and also has been threatened by huge animals like rats, a cat, a dog and a monkey, nothing is more disgusting and humiliating to him than being treated as a doll by the maids that also strips him from time to time (Jan, Firdaus 96) hurting deeply his self pride.   

   In this way Swift satirizes the theme of human pride and pretention within his book. By turning Gulliver into a tiny, insignificant creature, he minimizes not only the size but also human existence and its self-admiration and self-exaltation. Swift teaches us we are not as perfect as we think we are and invites us to reconsider our strength and weakness from a humble point of view.  

Bibliography:
 Daiches, David. "A Critical History of English Literature: the Restoration to 1800, Volume 3". Allied Publishers, 1979.
 Jan, K.M;  Firdaus, Shabnam. "Perspectives on Gulliver’s Travels". Atlantic Publishers & Dist, 01/01/2004.  

   

Exploration on Human Nature

The first book of Gulliver's Travels, “A Voyage to Lilliput” constitutes an exploration on human nature.   Pharaphrasing the Teacher's Guide to the Core Classic Edition of Jonathan Swift's Gullivers Travels we can say that through the creation of a new society “the Lilliputians”  (very similar to that of Gulliver’s home) Swift presents a profound analysis of the human behavior. Lilliputians are described as tiny even insignificant people in comparison to Gulliver; nevertheless they are evil and astute minds capable of keeping him under their control since the very beginning.

 The violent reaction Lilliputians show soon after they discover Gulliver, gives us an idea of the Machiavellian nature of this culture, who think they are the only “great empire" in the universe, and "even the presence of the gigantic Gulliver can't convince them of their relative insignificance" (Teacher's Guide)

 The fact of checking all his personal belongings with a high level of ignorance shows their lack of knowledge of the outside’s world mainly because of the excessive pride in its own culture that does not let them consider someone else better. According to Teacher's Guide to the Core Classic Edition of Jonathan Swift's Gullivers Travels "there are just two items that ironically escape the view of the Lilliputians: Gulliver’s spectacles and telescope. These devices are used by Swift with symbolic significance; they will enable Gulliver to see more clearly up close and underscore Swift's message that judgment depends on perspective" (page 29)

It is evident that Gulliver, amused by their sizes and customs, underestimates these people at the beginning. In the Teacher's Guide we have a reflection about the fact of Gulliver asking for his liberty. It says "Gulliver could have crushed most of the army as they paraded between his legs. Why does he have to ask for freedom?Why does Gulliver allow himself to be the prisoner of these tiny creatures?" (page 32-33) And here comes the interesting answer they offer to it "Gulliver has stopped seeing objectively" so we can conclude that the mental power Lilliputians craftily exercise towards him became stronger.

Through this satire, Swift also explores interpersonal relationships as well as the behavior of the English society. Lilliputians, as a symbolic representation of the English society, exemplify misplaced human pride, while Gulliver’s innocence represents the inability of some people to diagnose it correctly.

Bibliography:      Marshal, Lisa "Teacher's Guide to the Core Classic Edition of Jonathan Swift's 

                         Gullivers Travels", Core Knowledge Foundation, 2003  

                          http://www.coreknowledge.org/mimik/mimik_uploads/documents/55/CCGT.pdf