Gothic literature

The Dark uses of Gothic Literature
Gothic. A word that always seems to relate to the world of the occult, that of suspense and mystery. In literature it brings a dark setting, a suspenseful plot with shady characters that make one wonder about their integrity, and not to mention the thrills and chills of the supernatural. All of these story structures strive to have the reader biting theirnails as they anxiously wait for the next chilling sentence, or gasping in horror as they read the horrific piece of literature. What makes Gothic literature so intriguing is the authors’ ability to create a dark and gloomy suspenseful mood that compliments the story’s use of death, magic, horror, or the supernatural. In a representation of Gothic literature the authors William Faulkner and HoracioQuiroga use a sinister setting, fantastic plot, grotesque characters, and implications of the supernatural as a way to portray suspense and mystery in their stories “A Rose for Emily” and “The Feather Pillow.”
The setting of a Gothic piece of literature is mostly portrayed as sinister and dark, and it typically foreshadows the story’s gothic events. This is shown in the story “A Rose for Emily”when the author describes the setting of a room that is seen as a tomb and gives to the reader the sense that something terrible happened in that place. “A thin, acrid pallas of the tomb seemed to lie everywhere upon this room decked and furnished as for a bridal…” (Faulkner pg.15). In this quote Faulkner describes the bedroom as if it were readied for a bridal, but instead of describing it asromantic and full of light he gives the room the same description of tomb, dark and acrid. By describing the setting as that of a tomb the author gives the impression that there might be a body in there, foreshadowing future events. In comparison the use of a dark setting can be seen in the “The Feather Pillow” when the author, Quiroga, give a chilly description of the setting of the house thatbelonged to a newly wed couple. “The whiteness of the silent pation- friezes, columns, and marble statures- produced the wintery impression of an enchanted palace.” (Quiroga pg.5). The description the author gives to the setting sets up from the beginning the impression that something out of the norm could occur, not to mention the fact that the house seems from the beginning cold and unfriendly. Theuse of including a dark sinister setting in Gothic literature is meant to foreshadow and create a mood that connects to the plot and to also provide to the reader the beginnings of suspense.
An element of Gothic literature that tends to have readers anxiously waiting to know more, that horrifies them but at the same time intrigues them is the use of fantastic plot. The plot of a gothic storytends to lean toward the obscure and cynical, or ironic in some cases, as is seen in the story “A Rose for Emily” in where the plot of story involves the mystery of odd lady that always tended to keep to herself, and the horrifying events surrounding her true and sick nature. “For a long while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin. The body had apparently once been inthe attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that out last love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckholded him.” (Faulkner pg.15). The quote from the story seems to sums up the whole plot, and perhaps even the character of Emily. It revels the terrible and sick mind of Emily while horrifying the reader, who might have foreshadowed the end of the plot using hints form the story. Incontrast to the gruesome plot of “A Rose for Emily” the plot of the story “The Feather Pillow” is concededly more mysterious and at the same time full of trepidation, since most of the story you know that something terrible is happening to the character Alicia and that she most likely will die, but the suspense lies in why. Why is she sick? What is causing her illness? This can be seen in the...