claimed to be the ‘first gothic novel’, (its set in a medieval-mythic period, making it
claimed to be the ‘first gothic novel’, (its set in a medieval-mythic period, making it somewhat different to late 19th century gothic, but still plays with the metaphysics of space aka the castle as a geographically variable area*, deterritorialised but SPEAKING (kinda reminiscent then of maria toroks concept of the crypt, WHICH TRANSMITS AND OOZES SIGNS FROM THE REPRESSED, HIDDEN INSIDE THE CRYPT aka CRYPTONYMIC)) castle of otranto is an absolute treat. Giant helmets fall from the skies (this image was enough fr it 2 be adopted by the surrealists (suss the Dali illustration above (there’s also a jan svankmajer short-film, which of course is as creepy as one would hope)and the whole book has a proto-dream logic progression reminiscent of surrealist novels (nadja/froth on the daydream etc.)) but it is jst as much a shakespeare rip as anything else, full of juicy intertextz, with references to hamlet and macbeth(as well ironic exchanges between the 'rude mechanicals’; the servants who in a classic shakespearian trope, deflate the horrific/tragic plot of the noble protagonists). it also has that quality of allmost all pre-19th century fiction; 2 use an overabused term, it is PLAYFUL (the narrative has a bizarre causality, with tropes of the courtly romance coming into play: the priest who shouts jst before the execution 'HE HAS THE BIRTHMARK OF THE BLEEDING ARROW, HE IS MY SON’). *Walpole himself had in interesting relationship 2 the 'Gothic Space’ he built himself an ornate mock gothic castle which he named STRAWBERRY FIELDS and again was the originator of a trend that was 2 flourish in the 19th century. The name brings to mind the 'secret compount’ also known as STRAWBERRY FIELDS which 'was a sly reference to the Beatles’ song “Strawberry Fields Forever”, because the detainees would be held there “forever”.’ Is Guantanamo not the Gothic space par excellence, in which inmates like the protagonists of a Gothic novel are tortured by an all-controlling, panoptic power, which attains a mythical-supernatural quality. It is a space in which all human law is rendered null and void, it operates on different coordinates, the coordinates of a divine and wrathful justice, eager to extract 'information/secret-plans’ through an unremitting assault on the body of its victims (at Strawberry Fields water-boarding (a technique reminiscent of the torture chambers of the Inquisition) is applied (and one wonders if the EMINEM-TORTURE TECHNIQUE, in which inmates are forced 2 listen 2 the epitomy of Western-Capitalist decadence interminably until their minds reach breaking point)). The very area of Guantanamo is the INDETERMINATE GOTHIC SPACE in which inmates are deprived of time (via light deprivation and any access to CLOCKS) and space (the prisons are vast/impossible 2 manouevre within, in the same way as the Gothic Castle, which never remains statics, new rooms/secret passageways are continually uncovered). IT IS A PLACE OUTSIDE OF REFERENTS, AN A-TEMPORAL A-SPATIAL ZONE, IN WHICH THE OBVERSE OF ALL JUDUCIAL SYSTEMS IS REFLECTED, THE DREAM OF DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH BY AN INSURMOUNTABLE POWER, 2 VAST 2 CONTROL AND 2 ENCOMPASSING 2 RESIST. OTRANTO’s up on gutenberg so no excuse fr one not 2 suss it out http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/696 -- source link
#gothic#fictions#walpole#18th century