ABSTRACT |
Gothic literature was partly a reaction against the rationalism and
scepticism of the Enlightenment; furthermore, the trope of the ghost
began to be used to express horrors with immanent and historical as much
as transcendent supernatural sources. Towards the middle of the
nineteenth century the choice of a domestic setting for gothic stories
confirmed the tendency to trace the sources of horror to the oppression
in the context of the family, at the same time that the use of new
technologies to prove the existence of ghosts bears witness to the
relevant role that the supernatural still played in Victorian times.
From
the very moment that ghost narratives took the form of novels at the
turn of the eighteenth century, they were subject to the parody, irony
and humour intrinsic to this genre. At the turn of the nineteenth
century, ghost stories continued to proliferate and the humorous and
ironic touch was present in many of them. The participants in this round
table will discuss the differences in tone and style and character’s
problematic in ghost stories written by men and by women during this
period in England and in America. We will pay special attention
to the different uses of the trope of the ghost and their relation to
gender differences as well as to point out the reasons why this
should be so. |
