Gothic Romanticism - A Turning Point in Art and Literature

 

Gothic Romanticism - The Beginning Of Tragic Love

 

 

Recently while trying to explain a "party theme" to several different people I realized that those in my generation have forgotten about the Romantic period and more importantly the Gothic period. As soon as I say the word gothic everyone jumps in their mind to the 90's fad of wearing bagging black jeans and chain chokers. Did we all forget that after the Victorian Era there came a time in art and literature for brilliant minds like Poe and the Bronte Sisters? We read their novels, poems etc in High school English but do we respect the movement that they originated from?

 

 

Gothic Literature took place in the later 18th century as the world was coming out of the Victorian Era. Writers like Emily and Charlotte Bronte (though they weren't known by these names at the time) shocked the world with what was known then as perverse writing. These women wrote stories of abuse, lust, and death. The works of the Bronte sisters, Dickens, and later Poe were riddled with tragedies and macabre themes. They were dark and scary yet very real and that is why they were so captivating. The Victorian Era had started the idea of love enduring through hardship however the Gothic Era began the idea of love overwhelming someone to the point of madness.

 

In Victorian Literature a character might have fallen in love with a man outside his/her social class yet their love for one another would overpower societal rules. However in the Gothic Romantic period a man would fall in love with a woman, the woman might die and the man would go insane trying to overcome the tragic death of his only love. One of my favorite Gothic novels is Wuthering Heights a story that is riddled with jealousy, rage, and insanity that all stem from the love that Heathcliff has for Catherine. In this novel there is no real happy ending but there is the idea that he never gave up his love even to the point of it driving him mad.

 

Gothic literature also explored death as a beautiful idea, in fact Poe himself was obsessed with the death of beautiful women. Death in Gothic Literature could be a release from the restraints of the world that held them back. Suicide became a common theme as well. However with all of the morbid elements one thing remained constant love was all powerful. Love could bring two characters from opposite spectrums together, love could drive you insane, love could survive death....no matter what happened in these novels love remained the driving force behind all actions.

 

This art period was more beautiful than any in my opinion because it opened the world to the idea of enduring love and reality. These were not fairy tales, they were not happily ever afters but they were relatable for all social classes. People could relate to stories of abuse, they related to stories of sickness, and they related to stories of death. That was the beautiful aspect of this literature....these novels/poems made love seem possible for anybody across any situation and it reminded people that love was powerful.

 

-Maggie V.