Gothic Ambivalence of life and death

The theme of death in the Gothic novel reality. The Gothic image of the world and its fear of an uncertain and unpredictable universe. The fear as the most eminent theme in Poe’s story "The Tell-Tale Heart". The terrible motives of indistinct phenomena.
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Gothic Ambivalence of life and death



Gothic Ambivalence of life and death

Nature is a temple whose living colonnades

Breathe forth a mystic speech in fitful sighs;

Man wanders among symbols in those glades

Where all things watch him with familiar eyes…

Charles Baudelaire, “Correspondences”

Gothic novel reality is saturatedby fear as phenomenon that fulfills certain roles and is related to the theme of death. Gothic writers intensely explored themes of life and death, the self and the double and the supernatural occurrences,which very productively has displayed the ambivalence in our life. Fear germinates ambivalence of different concepts that are accepted in our society or culture, which ensures prosperity of literature as a reflection of human's imagination and own terrors.This paper is trying to disassemble in repercussions of “fear” as an effect in life by means of two pieces, namely- one of Robert Louis Stevenson short novel “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and the other is Edgar Allen Poe's short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”.

Speaking generally, Gothic fiction explores the most the theme of limitations stability in many possible ways; it problematizes the boundaries, which are fundamental for the usual perception of the world, thus allows feeling the great danger of human culture destruction.Therefore, Gothic text disturbs and frightens by that possibility of violation of the balance between the living and the dead state, the real and the unreal, natural and the supernatural, pain and pleasure, man and woman. The imbalance and duality characterize the Gothic image of the world and cause fear of an uncertain and unpredictable universe.

So,how can be defined the most ancient and powerful of human emotions? The feeling that brings to us the greatness and sublimity of nature, takes hold of us imperiously and freezes the heartbeats in premonition of horror. Edmund Burke said, “No power so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.”^* What is fear, then? David R. Saliba's definition is, "Fear is the emotional response to the perception of an alternating loss of control and regaining of control” ^[1].

As we know, the notion of “control” can be interpreted as physical control and/ or psychological control. According to Saliba, if a person experiences the sense of fear, it can lead him physically to loss of his stimulation in life or tonus and, consequently, to death, or psychologically to mental disorder and even to “identity dissolution”. Moreover, it is said that “In a biological sense fear is related to death.” It should be said that mental sickness is also a kind of death because the conscious becomes unable to keep the unconscious mind under control. This inevitably leads an individual to a stage of splitting personality, or as it is called in fiction - doubling.

Those arguments fortify the relations fear - death - madness - doubling. The chosen pieces of Poe and Stevenson fully explore those main themes the paper concentrates on.

A significant part of the genius art of Poe was creating a complete picture of the world, which might be for a distinct person - a clear and consistent, and for the outside observer - was characterized by an abundance of non-rational components. His unique perception of the world procreated such themes as fear, death and their symbiosis, madness and doubling.

In Poe's short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” the most eminent theme is the fear. The narrator's terror of the unnamed old man leads him to a murder and apparently to a psychological disorder.In order to try to understand the motifs for the evil deed of the protagonist, we have to analyze his real fears. He confesses he loved the old man and that that never harmed him. Then, he asserts that the reason to everything is the old man's eye with a film over it. “I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this!” (p.193)

Assumingly, the “eye” can symbolize his reflection - “I”. What means that he really loved the old man, but he is uneasy with himself.Even probably he hates himself for his incapacity to control his thoughts and feelings that torture and drives him mad. This can explain his idee fixe “it haunted me day and night” (p.193) and accurate planning. Approaching Saliba's book for further information, we might understand that the narrator experiences an intense form of anxiety, which “can come from threatening situations perceived in a person's surroundings, as well as from what Freud refers to as the id (man's instincts) and the superego (man's conscience). Once anxiety is experienced the ego--or the conscious part of the mind--moves quickly to protect itself through defense mechanisms, which are unconscious reactions that essentially distort reality.”^[2] “Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror…it was a stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharched with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night…it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me.” (p.194)

Hence, it is exactly the case; the narrator tries to protect himself from a personal collapse being terrified and blinded within by the “veiled eye” by planning and committing a murder. Thus, his fear was a psychological warning of his future breakdown; “A victim of fear perceives a threat to his identity which he experiences as a loss of control”. ^[3]

The narrator tells the story from the retrospective view beginning with persuading the reader in his sanity and rationality. “True! - nervous - very,very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” (p.193) Though, his words have reversed effect; he emphasizes that he is not in control of himself any more, he is not reliable , he even does not regret or feel any remorse while telling the reader about the murder, which means he is likely a psychopath. death gothic fear indistinct

Additionally, there are many evidences of narrator's insanity in the text:

· The murder is described in a great deal of details, which indicates narrator's maniacal head.

He planned the murder seven days and methodically repeated all the actions in order to reach his goal. “…I proceeded - with what caution - with what foresight - with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never that kinder to the old man than duringthe whole week before I killed him.” (p.193)

· He keeps convincing the reader he is sane; the more he does it, the less we believe in it. “The disease had sharpened my senses - not destroyed - not dulled them.” ; “Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me.” (p.193)

· He is nervous and repeats himself. “I moved it slowly - very, very slowly…” (p.193); “all in vain. All in vain.” (p.194); “…for what had I now to fear?...for what had I to fear? (p.196)

· He hears voices; ticking of the heart - all the symptoms of schizophrenia. He is afraid of getting oldand die - itis another motif in this story. The old man represents the time passing; his filmed eye and need in taking care of - weakness. Each beat of a person's heart gets him closer to his own death. The heart is a symbol of life, whereas when it stops beating - refers to death. Regarding his madness, when he sees the object that reminds or reflects directly his terror he receives a warning signal and tries to eliminate the source of the danger for him.“There came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well too. It was the beating of the old man's heart. It increased my fury…”; “But the beating grew louder, louder!”; “But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound.”; “At length it ceased. The old man was dead.” (p.195)

To the end of the story the protagonist exists in ambivalent condition; part of him is content and proud of his plan and its implementation, although the other part is possibly concerned and worried of his impulsive and uncontrolled deed. Being calm and confident with the police at the beginning of their visit, he ends with loud sounds of heart-beating in his head and with his confession. “ “Villains!”… “I admit the deed!”… “it is the beating of his hideous heart!” ” (p.197)

Similarly, the protagonist in the novel “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”faces with loss of self-control and decomposition of identity; however, it leads him to doubling personality, rather to madness.

Likewise to the narrator in “Tell-Tale Heart” Dr. Jekyll is not fond of getting old. “…growing towards the elderly man, this incoherency of my life was daily growing more unwelcome” (p.85). But the grand fear of his is to die splitted into two; he experiences very grave furcation due to his own desires, wishes and rationales. “And indeed the worst of my faults was a certain impatient gaiety of disposition, such as has made the happiness of many, but such as I found it hard to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head high, and wear a more than commonly grave countenance before the public. Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of me…It...