American literature

p The Gothic Qualities of Irving 's The Adventure of The German Student

An early nineteenth century American writer , Washington Irving was born in New York on April 3 , 1783 and died November 28 , 1859 . Irving penned the gothic tale , The Adventure of the German Student in 1824 . The narrative is said to be one of gothic enlightenment , rather than one of explained gothic . This is so because gothic literature is often characterized by supernatural horror and while this is so in Irving 's The Adventure of the German Student the supernatural event

is accounted for by hallucinations attributed to madness

At the onset of The Adventure of the German Student there is a strong indication that Gottfried Wolfgang the narrative 's central character is on the brink of losing his mind . Wolfgang is a young German student in Paris and the narrator explains

He took up a notion , I do not know from what cause , that there was an evil influence hanging over him an evil genius or spirit seeking to ensnare him and ensure his perdition

The events that follow are not only reflective of the gothic element of the supernatural but also indicate that the episodes of horrific fantasy are easily explained away by Wolfgang 's descent into madness . It is perhaps a tale of ambiguous gothic since there is no certainty that Wolfgang 's encounter with the corpse is not altogether an episode of madness

Gothic literature is not restricted to the supernatural . It is the embodiment of fear which is represented by darkness , contrast and the sublime . There is also an element of romance together with an atmosphere of horror . The gothic element of fear is set very early on in Irving 's The Adventure of the German Student . The stage for fear and mystery is set in the opening remarks of the narrator as follows

ON A stormy night , in the tempestuous times of the French revolution a young German was returning to his lodgings , at a late hour , across the old part of Paris . The lightning gleamed , and the loud claps of thunder rattled through the lofty narrow streets

Against this background the reader is introduced to a gloomy Wolfgang , whose melancholic mood is portrayed in typical gothic style His friends observing Wolfgang 's gloomy demeanor thought that the lights of Paris would lift him out of his melancholy state and as a result Wolfgang relocates to the city 's brighter side

Employing classic Gothicism , Irving contrasts the brightness of Paris against the melancholic German student . After describing Wolfgang as becoming haggard and despondent , Irving goes onto to say that he was sent , therefore , to finish his studies amidst the splendors and gayeties of Paris ' This is a subliminal element in that the reader latches onto a false sense of security , expecting brightness and a cure to the malady afflicting Wolfgang . In standard gothic tradition , the brightness and lightness of Paris will turn out to have the opposite impact

Once in the city of...