The Gothicism of A Cask of Amontillado一桶阿蒙蒂拉多酒中的哥特主义.docx
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The Gothicism of A Cask of Amontillado一桶阿蒙蒂拉多酒中的哥特主义.docx
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TheGothicismofACaskofAmontillado一桶阿蒙蒂拉多酒中的哥特主义
TheGothicismof“TheCaskofAmontillado”
Ⅰ.Introduction
A.GothicLiterature
GothicnovelwasborninEnglandfromaroundlateeighteenthandearlynineteenthcentury.ThewordGothichadcometomeanswild,barbarousandcrude.ThisnewborngenrebeganwithHoraceWalpole’snovelTheCastleofOtranto,whichtoldusaverythrillingstoryinamysteriousmedievalcastle.Thesubtitleofthisveryfirstgothicnovelwas“AGothicStory”.ThereforethesubsequentnovelswithsimilarelementstoTheCastleofOtrantowerecollectivelycalledGothicNovel.Asamatteroffact,GothicNovelhasitsbroadandnarrowsense.Inthenarrowsense,GothicNovelreferredonlytotheeighteenthcentury’sEnglandgothicnovels.Atthattime,thereweremanyremarkableworksbuttwoofthemstoodoutabovetherest,AnnRadcliffe’sTheMysteriesofUdolphoandMatthewLewis’TheMonk.Whileinthebroadsense,itreferstonovelscontainingthoseuniquegothicelements[Wikipedia,2014].Generally,GothicLiteraturegivesthereadersimpressionsofmystery,darknessanddreadwhichisfilledwithcontentsofviolence,death,murder,revengeandsoon.ThesettingofGothicLiteratureisalwaysveryeerie.Thestoryusuallytakesplaceinadarkandsecretplaceandthesurroundingenvironmentisoftendreadandscaryproducingafeelingofterrorinthereadersthroughthesuspensiveatmospheredepicteddeliberatelybytheauthor.Andtheunfortunateendisanindispensableelementtoo.TheeternalthemeofGothicLiteratureisdeathtowhichAllanPoepreferredverymuch.
B.EdgarAllanPoe
“EdgarAllanPoeheldaspecialstatusinthedevelopmentofAmericanliteratureinthenineteenthcentury.Hisshortstories,aswellaspoemsandliteraturecommentarieswereanimportantpartofAmericanliteratureinthatperiod[Liu,2011:
137].”TherewereaboutseventyshortstoriesofAllanPoe,mostofwhichdepictedtheterror,death,crazyimpulse,nightmaresandsoon.Thoseremarkableandthrillingstories,suchas“TheCaskofAmontillado”,“TheFalloftheHouseofUsher”,“TheBlackCat”,“TheMasqueoftheRedDeath”,“ThePrematureBurial”,“ThePitAndThePendulum”,becamethelegendaryworksinthehistoryofGothicLiterature.Asforhismorethansixtypomes,thereisasure-to-be-talked-aboutmasterpiece,TheRaven,whichtellsatalkingraven’smysteriousvisittoadistraughtlover,tracingtheman’sslowfallintomadness.Gothicelementsalsonaturallymeltedintothewholework.Assoonasithaspublished,thepoemmadePoewidelypopularinhislifetimewhichrarelyhappenedtootherworksofPoe,anditremainsoneofthemostfamouspomeseverwritten.Comparedwithotherwritersofthesametimes,AllanPoestoodoutinmanyaspects.OneofthemainaspectswasthathehadhisownsystematiccomposingtheorywhichwasalwayspresentedinhiscriticismandworkssuchasThePoeticPrincipleandreflectedinhisownworks.Poedislikeddidacticismandallegory,althoughhebelievedthatmeaninginliteratureshouldbeanundercurrentjustbeneaththesurface.Workswithobviousmeanings,hewrote,ceasetobeart.Hebelievedthatworksofqualityshouldbebriefandfocusonaspecificsingleeffect.Tothatend,hebelievedthatthewritershouldcarefullycalculateeverysentimentandidea[Wikipedia,2014].
C.Thestory
Itdepictsanmeticulousrevenge.Atthebeginningofthestory,MontresorhadagrudgeagainstFortunatoforhisinsultandhepromisedhimselftoretaliate.Onedayduringthecarnivalseason,Fortunatowasdrunkbadly,MontresorwaitedforthisopportunityforalongtimeandhesaidtoFortunatothatheboughtabarrelofwhitewinefromMongoliaofSpanish,Amontillado,buthecouldnottellwhetheritwastherealAmontillado.WhenFortunatoheardofhim,heinsistedthathemusttasteittohelpMontresordistinguishbetweentherealoneandthefalse.MontresorpresentedhedidnotunderstandwhatFortunatomeantandsaidhewouldinviteafriendtodifferentiateitforhimtemptingFortunatowhopridedhimselfonhisconnoisseurshipinwinegoingtothatoldfamily’sinheritedtomb.Montresoralreadyinstalledtheinstrumentsofmurderintheroom,hefetteredFortunatofirmlytothetwoironstaplesinthesurfaceofthewallandthenhesteppedoutoftheniche.Montresorwalleduptherecess,mockedthefinalstruggleofFortunatoatthesametimeandleftFortunatoinitrottenforever.However,MontresorretaliatedFortunatoruthlesslyandsuccessfullyandattheendofthestory,wefinallyfindoutsurprisingly,thestoryisareminiscenceofwhathappenedfiftyyearsago,andstillknewtonooneexceptthemurderer.
AsafamousPoe’swork“TheCaskofAmontillado”,thegothicfeaturesaswellashiscomposingtheorywereembodiedperfectlyinthisstory.Thispaperwillmainlydiscussthegothicfeaturesof“TheCaskofAmontillado”andsecondarilytalkaboutthereasonsforPoe’sfondnessofgothic.
Ⅱ.AnalysisofGothicElements
A.TheThemeofRevenge
AllanPoealwayspursuesthemosteffectivewayofnarrationwhichisshortlengthandrapidity.LikeotherPoe’sworks,hefocusesononlyonespecificeffect.Toachieveanxietyandterroreffectively,thereexistonlytworolesinthisstory,MontresorthemurderandFortunatothevictim.“Theonlytwopeoplebothhavetheflawinthepersonality,onlyMontresor’sflawisinthehideawaywhileFortunato’sflawispresentedinthepublicandtheintentiontoportraythiskindofdifferenceliesinthestrengthenedterrificeffectthatitshouldhavewhentheclimaxarrivesattheendofthestory[Tao,2011:
11].”Atthebeginning,theonlyconflictofthestoryisquicklypresentedtothereaders.MontresorhasagrudgeagainstFortunatoandheislongingforrevenge.Hereonegothicelementalreadyappears,thethemeofrevenge.“ThethousandinjuriesofFortunatoIhadborneasIbestcould;butwhenheventureduponinsult,Ivowedrevenge.You,whosowellknowthenatureofmysoul,willnotsuppose,however,thatIgaveutterancetoathreat.AtlengthIwouldbeavenged[AllanPoe,1991:
65].”Fromtheverystart,theideaofrevengespreadsthechillingfeelingofsuspensemakingthereaderscuriousaboutthesubsequentplotandtensedfortheunknown.MontresorexplainshisangerthinkingFortunatoisnothingbutarroganthurtinghisfeelingsthousandsoftimes.EventhoughtheexactprocessofFortunatoinsultingMontresorwasnotdepictedinthestory,thedarknessofMontresorwasclearlyrevealedtothereadersbecausegenerally,normalpeoplewouldnotkillapersonwhoinsultedhimasarevenge.Justinthebeginningpart,themadnessanddarknessoftheprotagonistwerevividlypresentedinfrontofthereaders.MontresorhatesFortunatowithallhisheartbutheissohypocriticalthatshowsnothingtoFortunato.“Itmustbeunderstood,thatneitherbywordnordeedhadIgivenFortunatocausetodoubtmygoodwill.Icontinued,aswasmywont,tosmileinhisface[AllanPoe,1991:
65].”MontresorconcealsallhishatredfromFortunatokeepingbeingFortunato’sfriendinordertocarryouthisplanofrevengesomeday.“You,whosowellknowthenatureofmysoul,willnotsuppose,however,thatIgaveutterancetoathreat.AtlengthIwouldbeavenged[AllanPoe,1991:
65].”Inthesefourlines,wecanclearlyseehisdeephatredandresolutionthroughthephrase“atlength”.Heisdeterminedtorevenge.Whatismore,hewantshisrevengetobeperfectwithoutanyconsequences.“Imustnotonlypunishbutpunishwithimpunity.Awrongisunredressedwhenretributionovertakesitsredresser.Itisequallyunredressedwhentheavengerfailstomakehimfeltassuchtohimwhohasdonethewrong[AllanPoe,1991:
65].”Ledbythisprinciple,Montresorhastomakeanelaborateplanforhisrevengeandactuallytheplanhasalreadycomeintobeing.Thisstronghatred,althoughitisunilateralandFortunatostillthoughtthatMontresorishisfriend,makesthereaderscuriousaboutwhatwillhedoestoexecutehisrevengeplan.ThisisthereasonthatAllanPoestartsthestorysobrieflyandefficiently.Aperfectgothicprotagonistcomesintobeing.Ahypocriticalmanwithtwistedinnerthoughtsplanstokillthepersonhehates.Thedarksideofhumanbeingisultimatelyincreased.Andonedayduringthecarnivalseason,thisrevengesuccessfullystarts.
B.AnOldCastlewithanUndergroundCatacomb
ThestoryhappensatonenightduringcarnivalseasoninItalysoeveryplaceintheworldisfilledwithholidayatmosphere.ItisatthistimewhenMontresormeetsFortunatowhichseemsoccasionalbutactuallynot.Montresor’srevengeisplaneddedicatedlyincludingthetimetheymeetandtheplaceFortunatodies.Tocarryouthisplansafely,hedeliberativelysaidheshouldnotreturnuntilthemorningtomakesurethatallservantsslipoutleavingthewholeemptycastletohim.Followingauthor’sdetaileddescription,anoldbuildingcomesintooursightwhichistheoldestcastleinthatarea.Thesekindsofstructuresarebroadlyusedingothicstoriestoincreasetheterroreffect.SoonthetwocharactersarewalkingtowardsthecatacombunderthisoldcastlewhereMontresorclaimshestoresthebarrelofamontilladoandactuallyburiedtheancestorsofMontresorfamily.Onthewaytothecatacomb,AllanPoetookfulladvantagesofhiscomposingtalentgivingusanimmersedsenseofbeinginthisterrifyingenvironment.“Thetwocharacterspassdownalongandwindingstaircase……Wecameatlengthtothefootofthedescent,andstoodtogetheronthedampgroundofthecatacombsoftheMontresors[AllanPoe,1991:
67].”Bythesewords,thebleaknessandisolationarevividlyemergedinfrontofoureyes.Atenebrousunderpasswithsmellydampatmosphe
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