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Southern Gothic:

Literature of the Macabre

English

Mrs. Meeker

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What is "Gothic" Literature?

In a nutshell, the "Gothic" genre originated at the end of the 18th Century.  Its common characteristics include dark isolated settings, supernatural phenomena, a sense of psychological or physical entrapment, and a victim who is an outcast and/or helpless against his or her situation.  Gothic literature is the precursor to modern day horror.

 

Famous titles include:

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Bram Stoker's Dracula

 

 

 

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So then what is "Southern Gothic"?

  • A subgenre of Gothic literature unique to American Literature
  • Plot relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events 
  • Explores and comments on the social issues of the times
  • Reveals the cultural character of the American South
  • Rich in folklore, oral history, suspense and local color
  • Well-known authors: 
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Faulkner
    • Flannery O'Connor
    •  Truman Capote

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Setting of the Southern Gothic

Uses details of the Old South such as:

 

  • Decrepit plantations
  • Dusty downtowns
  • Dilapidated buildings
  • Isolated, small towns

 

to enhance the contrast between the culture of American South in its antebellum glory and its deterioration following the Civil War.

Following the war, characters are left to make sense of a world that has become industrialized and moved on without them.

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Characters of the Southern Gothic

  • "Off-kilter" characters, many of whom are psychologically disturbed or mentally incapacitated
  • Strangers in strange places
  • Persons of questionable morality who intentionally harm others
  • The "Innocent":  Often a victim, yet can also function as a redeemer
  • In the end, purity of heart rarely overpowers desperation
  • These characteristics symbolize the fears and confusion of a new southern society where all that was "good" seems to have been abandoned

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Common Features

Freakishness

 

  • Often there is a pivotal character or someone close to him who is set apart from the world by a disability or odd way of seeing the world (Ex:  Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird)
  • Fascination with the outsider is a characteristic of southern culture
  • Southern gothic attempts to connect the reader to the "freakish" in himself

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Common Features

Imprisonment

 

  • Both literal and figurative
  • Sometimes a character is sent to jail or locked up, while other times a character suffers a psychological imprisonment--a life without hope, without suffering, without fear, etc.

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Common Features

Violence

 

  • The genre covers period in the South's history when violence prevalent;  After the bloodshed of the Civil War, and the period of reconstruction that followed, racial tension and fear ran high in many small southern towns
  • The tradition of violence prevails in contemporary Southern Gothic

 

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Common Features

The Grotesque

 

  • In literature, a character or location that is irregular, extravagant or fantastic in form
  • Characters are deeply flawed and induce both empathy and disgust
  • Obvious examples:  The physically deformed, the mentally deficient, and the morally corrupt
  • Often parodies human qualities or a creates a distorted reflection of a familiar place

Merriam Webster definition: 

"departing markedly from the natural, the expected, or the typical"

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Sources

 

"Genre:  Southern Gothic." Oprah.com. 1 Sept. 2008 http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbookclub/heartisalonelyhunter/thlh_gothic_features/1.

 

"Grotesque (literature)."  Tiscaldi.reference.  1 Sept. 2008 http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0097419.html.

 

"Southern Gothic." Wikipedia.com. 1 Sept. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Gothic.