ENRIQUE ORDOÑEZ ESPARZA GRADO EN ESTUDIOS INGLESES 2015/2016 Gothic Archetypes and their Influence in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by Howard Philips Lovecraft TUTOR: RAÚL MONTERO GILETE DEPARTAMENTO: DEPARTAMENTO DE FILOLOGÍA INGLESA Y ALEMANA Y DE TRADUCCIÓN E INTERPRETACIÓN Abstract Howard Philips Lovecraft is considered one of the most influential horror writers in literature, and since studies focusing on the author are already common, it might be interesting to take a literary approach. The aim of this dissertation is to point out how different archetypes of both traditional and North American Gothic literature influenced and/or are represented in his novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (1941). In order to give some context, we will first delve into the author's life and the nature of his work. Then, we will provide a thorough and extensive typology of the most common tropes in both of the aforementioned Gothic traditions, quoting several examples from different well-known Gothic works. With said archetypes clarified, we will scrutinize in detail their presence on this specific novel as they appear in the plot, which will be divided in three narrative arcs, as well as how these Gothic tropes are portrayed and what their role is in the development of the story. Lastly, a conclusion will be presented underlining the major relevance of Gothic archetypes in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Key Words: Lovecraft, Horror literature, Gothic, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Author & Work 4 3. Gothic Literature 6 3.1 Atmosphere & Scenery 7 3.2 Passion 8 3.3 Damsel in Distress 8 3.4 Family 9 3.5 The Supernatural and the Sublime 10 4. American Gothic 11 4.1 Human Psyche 11 4.2 Balance between Natural & Supernatural 13 4.3 Space/Time Displacement 14 4.4 Community 16 5. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 16 5.1 Prologue 17 5.2 The Alchemist 19 5.2 The Historian 22 5.3 The Doctor 24 6. Conclusion 29 7. References 30 1. Introduction In his essay Danse Macabre (1981), Stephen King referred to Howard Phillips Lovecraft as "The twentieth century horror story's dark and baroque prince" (31), and the role he played in the evolution of the horror genre makes him worthy of such epithet. With rationalism, even Shelley's scientifically resuscitated dead caused the same fear as the romantic ghost in chains, and authors like Arthur Machen attempted to cause fear not through the notion of "the dead" but through the unknown. Through the primal fear to that which the human brain cannot comprehend. But it was H. P. Lovecraft the one who perfected and popularized this kind of horror tales with his portrayal of a cosmos so vast, abject, and hostile that is meant to consume mankind, without even noticing us (Llopis, Los mitos de Cthulhu 16). Despite his contribution to horror and the devotion of his fans, Howard Phillips Lovecraft is an author that has stayed out of the mainstream media. Different texts dealing with the psychological, and especially, social dimension of Lovecraft's work, such as those of Stephen A. Black (1979) and B. Philips (2013) are more visible than the literary ones. However, Lovecraft's work is fascinating in a literary way, though not form-wise. Llopis described this author's English as "baroque, unhinged, confusing and conglomerated" (Viajes al otro mundo. Ciclo de aventuras oníricas de Randolph Carter 20), but there is much to study about his works regarding its influences, and legacy in the horror tradition. There would be no King without Lovecraft and there would no Lovecraft without Poe. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is one of his very few novels. It was written around 1927, Lovecraft himself described his novel, in a letter to R. H. Barlow, as a "cumbrous, creaking bit of self-conscious antiquarianism" (Joshi 34), and it was not published until 1941, after the author's death. On the contrary, once published, New York Times reviewer William Poster described it as "a good story in the New England witchcraft tradition, well seasoned with alchemy, vampirism, ancient documents and mummy-stealing" ("Nightmare in Cthulhu" 14), and Baird Searles praised his knowledge of New England history ("On Books" 20). The aim of this paper is to point out the influences of Gothic literary tradition in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. In order to do so, we will first define the gothic tropes we will be working with and later on underline them in Lovecraft's novel. We will also see if the characters fit as the 3 standard gothic characters. Finally, we will conclude if this work can really be read as a gothic novel, and suggest further research. 2. Author and Work H. P. Lovecraft was a living contradiction. The same rational man who declared himself an atheist and bore an absolutely materialistic view of reality wrote the most fantastic stories about forgotten alien gods. And the same completely antisocial man, a misanthrope who felt a complete stranger among people, maintained very active correspondence with a fair number of amateur writers and fans. People like August Derleth, Robert Block and Robert E. Howard −author of Conan the Barbarian (1932)− compounded a circle of writers that, first, set up the Arkham House publishing house with the purpose of collecting and publishing Lovecraft's work after his death, and second, compiled the more than 100,000 letters he wrote during his life. This letters are the reason that Lovecraft's life is so well documented, as well as his convoluted personality (Llopis, Los mitos de Cthulhu 22). Howard Philips Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on the 20th of August, 1890, into a medium-high class family of British descent, "almost a Mayflower specimen", as described by Guillermo del Toro in the documentary “Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown” (2008). But his father Winfield Scott Lovecraft, a travelling salesman, was barely at home and died of a mental condition −probably caused by syphilis− when Howard was 8 years old. He was raised by his over-protective and neurotic mother who it is believed to have projected all her frustrations on young Howard, making him dress as a girl and telling him he was hideous and that people were dangerous and stupid (Llopis, Los mitos de Cthulhu 18). He received an uptight and aristocratic education based on tradition and a sense of pride for his heritage. He was also a very precocious reader, and the greatest solace in his childhood consisted in visiting his grandfather's library. It was in that library where he fed his imagination with classical mythology, and where he became obsessed with the literature of the 18th century. Maybe it was inspired by figures like Alexander Pope and the notion of Art for the sake of it that Lovecraft refused to work at anything that was not writing. He probably assumed that his family fortune would always be there for him, and it became 4 evident for him that it would not the year his mother died. Still, all he did was to write for a living, which caused him to endure poverty and eventually caused his divorce, too. But his publications in amateur fiction magazines such as "Weird Tales" kept him going. He lived for a period of time in New York with his wife Sonia Greene. According to what Letterney exposes about Lovecraft’s letters in "I Just Called to Say Cthulhu: Xenophobia and Antiquarianism in H.P. Lovecraft’s Mythos" (2014), and what can be interpreted from the tale The Horror at Red Hook (1927), which was written in this period, his stay in the city only aggravated a xenophobia already present when he lived in New England. This is but another proof of Lovecraft's contradictory personality, since his wife was of Jewish descent. Lovecraft returned back to the security of Providence where his literature flourished. It was time for him to apply all his talent for short tales on his first long novel, and in 1927, he wrote The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Unluckily, he never saw the merit on his novel, since as we have mention; it was not published until his death. From this period are also some of his most successful short tales: "The Colour out of Space" (1927) and "The Dunwich Horror" (1929), which are also some of his better paid works. As his literature flourished, he also prospered as a person. He acquired a taste for travelling motivated by the idea of visiting his pen friends. His finances struggled to keep up with this new hobby, and in 1931, he published his second great novel At the Mountains of Madness, the crowning jewel of the Cthulhu Mythos. According to J. Zbořil’s "H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos" (2015), this novel supported the readers' generally accepted idea, that all of Lovectaft's work takes place in the same universe, in which a pre-human Earth, populated by primordial cosmic gods and strange civilizations, dissipated before the existence of mankind, but still echoes in our times. It is at this point of his career where we can make the clearest distinction in between Lovecraft's two literary traditions. The case of Charles Dexter Ward together with At the Mountains of Madness and the tales aforementioned consolidated what Lovecraft himself considered his own style; detective-like stories in which the characters driven, often by curiosity, ended up facing evidences that confirm the existence of these eldritch entities. This encounter with a part of reality that the human brain is not even prepared to understand usually causes the character's death, madness or suicide. These tales set in modern times contrast strongly with many of his early 5 works, which emulating the oneiric works of Lord Dunsany (Llopis, Los mitos de Cthulhu 33), take place in the primal earth we have described earlier. The most representative tales from this tradition are those that narrate the dream travels of Randolph Carter, a recurrent character which is even mentioned in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Lovecraft maintained this personal style throughout his latter works, being The Shadow over Innsmouth (1936) and The Haunter of the Dark (1936) some of the best known. Howard Philips Lovecraft died in March 1937, leaving many works for his circle to publish and an ineffable framework for future horror writers to build upon. Yet, it is not where the Lovecraftian tradition leads us what we will focus on, but where it comes from, and specifically, the trace of gothic tradition in his work. In the next section we will define thoroughly the gothic tropes we will be working with. 3. Gothic Literature During the Enlightenment, the works of the classical Greek and Roman past were glorified as paramount of uniformity, proportion and order. In contrast, the more recent past of European nations seemed quite the opposite. This past, labeled "Gothic" in a demeaning way, was perceived as barbarous, superstitious, extravagant and wild (Botting 25-30), and it was strongly upheld by artists who found the extreme rationalism of the enlightenment dehumanizing. Eventually, Medieval romances would serve as inspiration for a new genre, the Gothic novel. As M. Mulver-Roberts states repeatedly in A Handbook to Gothic Literature (1998), this new genre became the way for writers to portray and explore their contemporary social taboos. This function is ultimately what consolidates the genre, and is a constant throughout the European and the American gothic traditions. We will now point out some of the tropes and characteristics of this genre in order to trace them later in Lovecraft's work. And to do so, we will use as reference some canonical Gothic novels such as The Monk (1796) and The Castle of Otranto (1764) among others. 3.1. Atmosphere & Scenery In the Gothic novel, the atmosphere plays a remarkable role. Its typical somber settings were not only a direct opposition to the concept of Enlightenment, also, as Botting 6 would point out, "Night gave free reign to imagination's unnatural and marvelous creatures" (32). This ambience of gloom makes it possible for a reader to suspend his disbelief, and it is achieved in very different ways. The natural scenery is one of them; meteorology and topology are frequently used to create an oppressive and obscure atmosphere. Take as an example the depictions of the landscape surrounding the Chatêau of Moiseur St. Aubert at the beginning of The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), describing the Pyrenees covered in clouds or "exhibiting awful forms" and "Forests of gloomy pine" on their hills (Radcliffe 1). But architecture is also highly relevant. Gothic cathedrals, abbeys and monasteries from the Middle Ages −many of them already in ruins− stoop as a memory of that obscure past on which these authors take inspiration. Thus, these religious buildings alongside with castles are constantly the scenery of gothic novels. And the best examples can be found in Matthew Gregory Lewis’ The Monk. Not only the abbey and the convent are the most relevant sceneries, but there is also a flashback in which Lorenzo de Medina visits the Castle of Lindenberg in Germany. Furthermore, towards the end of the novel, Agnes is kidnapped and kept within a sepulcher behind secret corridors. The usage of these ideas of antiquity, decay, and nature taking over what once was men's would become within time in the most easily recognizable feature of Gothic literature, and also one of the most influential. 3.2 Passions Another point we want to explore is the one related to Passions. Just as rationalism upheld the idea of objectivity, the authors of gothic novels were strongly interested in portraying the dark side of human soul, and how it can affect to one's personality. Gothic writers often trafficked with passion, "it was their signature, their prime selling point" (Davison 60). Characters in gothic novel are generally very passion driven rather than rational, and it is this incapacity to control themselves what brings their doom. Manfred, from The Castle of Otranto, cannot control his wrath, as his wife describes: "Every murmur struck her with new terror; yet more she dreaded to hear the wrathful voice of Manfred urging his domestics to pursue her" (Walpole 24). And going back to The Monk, the very cause of the fall of Ambrosius, from being the most pious man in Madrid to becoming an incestuous rapist and a murderer, is the fact that contrary to his own beliefs, he cannot control his passions: "Ambrosious could bear no more: His 7 desires were worked up to phrenzy. 'I yield!' He cried, dashing the mirror upon the ground: 'Matilda, I follow you! Do with me what you will!" (Lewis 271). As we will explore in depth later, this notion evolved after the genre developed in America. ‘The acuteness of senses’, by which characters become intensely aware of their surroundings, became with time one of the pillars of gothic tradition. 3.3 Damsel in Distress The trope of Damsel in Distress also became immensely popular within the Gothic tradition. In this genre, it is common to find the archetype of a woman deprived of her will by an authoritarian figure; locked away, forced to get married, and even raped. And it is generally up to a male character to save her. This trope can be clearly seen again in The Castle of Otranto where on the one hand, we find Matilda and Isabella, who are both soon to be unwillingly married by Manfred, while being in love with someone else. We see Isabella cry to his father: "What has thou done! what ruin has thy inadvertent goodness been preparing for thyself, for me, and for Matilda!" (Walpole 79). And on the other hand, we find the character of Hippolita, Manfred's wife. In the words of Ellis, Hippolita "epitomizes wifely submission" and explains that her inability to see the evil in her husband contributes to this abuse (58). There are also two examples of the Damsel in Distress trope in The Monk in the characters of Agnes and Antonia, but the circumstances and events they endure acquire a cruel and deranged dimension when the first is thrown in a vault by nuns, and there she starves, gives birth and eventually witnesses his newborn's body rot until she is rescued, and the latter is kidnapped, repeatedly raped and killed by a cleric who happens to be her brother. 3.4. Family The next point we want to explore is the one of the Family. The idea of family has an enormous amount of dimensions. It could be analyzed with a focus on the personal interactions of its members or maybe by pointing out how the traditional family structure is either preserved or broken. But our interest will be specifically the notion of "Inherited Sin". This idea of sons inheriting the sins of their father can be traced to the Bible and the original sin, by which all of Adam's descendants are doomed to carry the consequences of his misstep, and God himself states later on that he will be "punishing 8 the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation" (Exodus 20:5– 6). But in Gothic literature, and maybe influenced as well by folk tales, this notion of inherited sin acquired a secular, yet still supernatural tone and became what we understand as a curse. This notion of curse is manifest again, in The Castle of Otranto when we are explained that Manfred's hurry to have his son married derives from him being concerned with an ancient prophecy which augured that the lordship of Otranto "should pass from the present family whenever the real owner should be too large to inhabit it" (Walpole 103), and the unfolding of the events, as well as the apparition of the armored giant at the end of the novel, indicate that the curse was fulfilled over Manfred the usurper. Another distinct manifestation of this phenomena can be found in the short tale "The Doom of the Griffiths" (2000) by Elizabeth Gaskell, where we not only presence the collapse of a rural Welsh family when Owen Griffiths fulfills the curse by killing his father, but also the very moment when their ancestor is cursed after committing treason. 3.5. The Supernatural and the Sublime Obviously, the notion of curse we have just discussed is a supernatural notion. Yet, the relevance of the curses themselves and the inherent complexity of the notions of supernatural and sublime make them worthy of a separate analysis. In contrast with ‘the beautiful’, which we define as that which is proportionate, well-formed and aesthetically pleasing, ‘the sublime’ is related with the ideas of immensity and obscurity. If the first attempts to charm the soul, the second produces awe and horror by revealing that which cannot be processed by a rational mind (Botting 39). In a simpler way, the sublime could be defined as that with bother the power to compel and destroy us. Except for some particular cases like the narratives of Ann Radcliffe who tends to give rational explanations for the mysteries which take place in her works, and The mysteries of Udolpho is no exception (Lovecraft, El horror en la literatura 24), most of the strange phenomena that take place in the gothic tradition have a supernatural origin. An origin that falls within the idea of the sublime. In The Castle of Otranto, we witness the culmination of the curse cast on Manfred in the form of the colossal apparition of Alfonso, the previous lord of the castle. This resolution might feel rather clumsy for modern standards but being Wapole's novel one of the first in the gothic tradition, it 9