Novel of manners

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 514.

Gothic novel

- appears in 18^th century but its climax is in 19^th

Ø style connected with Middle Ages, interest in Middle Ages, medieval settings

Ø not faithful in recreation of details

Ø atmosphere of Medieval Ages

Ø sense of horror, crime, very exciting things

Ø formula fiction (it's schematic)

Ø setting: monastery, church, county mansion); secret passages, chambers, place covered in semi-darkness, potential mystery

Ø letter/documents/secrets discovered

Ø some harm is done (seduction, rape, murder); revenge

Ø stock characters

Ø often: supernatural elements (e.g. devil in the shape of a monk)

~ Ann Radcliffe “The Mysteries of Udolfo” (no supernatural elements)

~ Horace Walpole “Castle of Oranto”

~ Mathew Lewis “The Monk”

Ø habits, way of life

Ø requires a lot of observation

Ø a limited group of people, connected somehow, a small world

~ Fanny Bourney

- “Evelina” “Cecilia”

- Young girl who enters the world with its cruelty, hypocracy

~ Maria Edgeworth

- “Castle Rackrent”

- she's Irish

- she wrote about Ireland seriously

~ Jane Austen

- rather schematic novels

- focused on 3 or 4 families in a village, relationships

- she writes briefly & main plots are connected with getting married ( women were depended on men- so getting married was a serious issue)

- “Pride and Prejudice” “Sense and sensibility” “Emma” (young but thinks she knows all)

- she's the master of English language

- subtle irony

- control of the style & emotions

Chick literature- literature wrote by women and about women