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AQA LITB3 – ELEMENTS OF THE GOTHIC
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‘In Gothic literature, Death is always the Punishment for Sin’
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(40 marks) 
 
In literature, death is a punishment often associated with sin
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Gothic
literature actually contradicts this statement more often than not because of the way
that gothic writers turn convention on its head, and shock their readers
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Life and
death are concepts that appear in much of literature; the realm between the two is
specific to the gothic
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This is not to say that gothic writers never comply with the idea of death being a
punishment for sin
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We have witnessed the
horrific sin committed by the vile Marquis, such as his lurid exploitation of women
and "stark torture chamber"
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It could be said that this is the typical "happy
ending" of a fairytale, however Carter remains true to the gothic genre by mixing in
some unorthodox ideas
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The darkness of
what has happened can never leave her, and her purity is forever stained
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Human nature is complex
and intricate, thus making her a realistic character, and the story retains an element of
spine-chilling mystery
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The vampire undeniably
commits a stream of sins throughout the novel, with teeth that are "sharpened on
centuries of corpses"
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Rather, it would be a welcome escape from her current undead state of existence
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To be able to die would mean that she is human; humanity is her deepest
desire and is shown through her pining for sexual "consummation", and the
appearance of lovers on her fortune cards
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They wish death upon her, not as a punishment, but to
release the bird from its cage
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For example, when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth die, justice seems

to have been served because of their ambitious sins
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It would seem that Shakespeare is not particularly trying to use death as a
punishment for sin because mortality is simply a part of humanity, and the "brief
candle" of life can all too easily be extinguished by a mortal hand
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Macbeth and Lady Macbeth face increasing turmoil of the mind as they must live, not
die, with what they have done
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The apparition is most likely born out of his
maddening grief, however Macbeth speaks to the ghost as though he is real, saying
"never shake Thy gory locks at me"
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His true punishment comes with the deranging knowledge that he will suffer for what
he has done
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Throughout the sin that
was Duncan's murder, she was the driving force who chose to "pour my spirits in
thine (Macbeth's) ear"
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Whilst sleepwalking, she reveals how mad
she is being driven by guilt, and the memory or what they did
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She
desperately cries "Out damned spot, out I say!" and "Here's the smell of the blood
still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand
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Bronte portrays the connection
between death and punishment in an interesting way; similarly to Shakespeare, she
looks at how enduring life can be more difficult than death
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It is clear that he cannot avoid punishment for going
against the natural order in such a way
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Just as Catherine tells Nelly Dean that Heathcliff is "more myself
than I am", Catherine is an embedded part of Heathcliff's soul
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They will not belong in Heaven or in Hell, but only
in each other’s arms
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He begs
her to "haunt me then!… Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad!"
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The question of the supernatural versus mental instability
arises, just as it does when Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost
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He

takes his life in his own hands, and his grateful relief at escaping the futility of a life
alone is shown by the "life-like gaze of exultation" in his dead eyes
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Wuthering Heights has experienced a great deal of suffering, and yet the ending is one
of redemption and the possibility of hope
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In conclusion, gothic literature sometimes uses death as a punishment for sin because
it is considered a just punishment
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Exploring
the concept that life itself may be more of a punishment than death seems to be a
popular route
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Living with the memory
and haunting of our past can be the greatest punishment of all
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To what extent does an atmosphere of mystery and suspense characterise gothic
literature? (40 marks)
Mystery and suspense are important contributors to a typical Gothic atmosphere
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Literary critic, David
Morris, believes that the Gothic genre examines “horrific, hidden ideas and emotions
within individuals and provides an outlet for them”
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Throughout gothic literature we can see examples of mystery and suspense creating
powerful emotion
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Both Angela Carter and Shakespeare achieve this by dropping ominous hints of
mystery from the early stages of their respective literary works
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For example, she compares
her husband to a “cobra-headed, funeral lily whose white sheaths are curled out of a
flesh”
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Similarly the ruby choker, “bright
as arterial blood”, has a significant connection to the historic beheading of the
aristocracy and is a signal towards the narrator’s planned execution
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The audience do not quite understand the equivocal warning to “Beware Macduff”
even though “none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth”, however they wait in
suspense for the inevitably horrific outcome of these premonitions
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Heathcliff is introduced as being
"more exaggeratedly reserved" than Lockwood, and living in an area "so completely
removed from the stir of society"
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The story unfolds for the reader through the eyes of the
unlikeable character Lockwood
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Although, at this point, the reader cannot realise the
full implications of this occurrence, Heathcliff's reaction of "violent emotion"
indicates a dark secret
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However, writers must also use other elements to create a Gothic atmosphere
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‘Gothic literature often shows the supernatural entwined with the ordinary
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(40 marks) 
 
Much of gothic literature is characterised by the way it intertwines the ordinary and
extraordinary because this is such an effective way of shocking the reader
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She shows how "night and the forest has come into the kitchen
with darkness tangled in its hair"
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Emily Bronte and Shakespeare use a similar concept, whether it is by
unnaturally prolonging life into death or creating monstrous characters through the
insanity of ambition
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In "The Werewolf" she creates scenes of commonplace rural life, such as
"a crude icon of the virgin behind a guttering candle, the leg of a pig hung up to cure"
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Unnatural ideas are initially presented as mere superstitions and therefore it is
shocking when they transit into real occurrences; the tender figure of a grandmother is
revealed to be a werewolf and witch
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She does not fit into
the customary category of either human or wolf, but rather lies in an unnerving realm
between the two, having “little in common with the rest of us”
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Supernatural presences are a consistent feature of "Wuthering Heights"; Bronte
integrates them with natural occurrences in order to show the gothic nature of her
setting
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Mythological creatures contrasted with ordinary
food help the reader to become accustomed to the possibility of the supernatural
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This first occurs on Lockwood's visit to Wuthering Heights,
where he believes he hears a mere branch knocking on the window however,
"stretching an arm out to seize the importunate branch: instead of which, my fingers
closed on the fingers of a little, ice-cold hand
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Lockwood has previously been a
very rational and boring character, but we now see him sucked into a world in which
reason is overturned
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Heathcliff and Catherine often talk of
Heaven and Hell, but also of a realm between the two in which peace cannot be found
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This is shown when Heathcliff despairingly cries
"Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you –
haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe
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Bronte
mixes up traditional gothic tradition by creating a character who actually wants ghosts
to exist, insisting that "I have a strong faith in ghosts: I have a conviction that they can,
and do, exist among us!" Life is unnaturally extended into an afterlife
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Bronte does hint at the possibility of fantastical superstition throughout
the novel, however she also makes it clear that we should not simply dismiss the
supernatural and it could be closely intertwined with the imaginings of our own minds
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The witches are significant characters because they embody the supernatural and the
way that it can control our seemingly ordinary lives
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In addition to providing grotesquely inhuman imagery with lines such as "In the
poisoned entrails throw", the witches express equivocal language and half-truths
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For example, the
witches prophecy that "Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood
to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him" seems initially like an impossible act
of the Gods
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Similarly,
their prophecy that "none of women born Shall harm Macbeth" seems unnatural and
yet has an ordinary explanation
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It seems that the witches plant the idea of becoming King into Macbeth,
thus looking at how the supernatural can drive our ambition and create monsters out
of men
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More
obvious examples of the supernatural being entwined with the ordinary come with the
appearance of Banquo's ghost
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Lady Macbeth insists "When all's done, You look but on a stool" however
Macbeth believes in earnest that he is directly addressing Banquo and exclaims "never
shake Thy gory locks at me
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The intertwining of the supernatural and the ordinary is an important role of gothic
literature because it makes unbelievable situations become terrifyingly possible
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The idea of fear invading comfort is a fundamental part of shocking the reader, and
questions whether the supernatural could simply be a part of our imagination

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