Gothic Short Story to use to compare with Northanger Abbey

[Kendall]

I am looking for a gothic short story.  I plan to have my high school girls read Northanger Abbey.  I want them to compare the satiric elements of Northanger Abbey to the classic Gothic elements of Austen's contemporaries, pointing out how Austen is making fun of her pop culture. I don't have the time for them to read all of Udolpho:).   

 

Thanks

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Edith Wharton and Louisa May Alcott both write short gothics that might work.

[Guest]

Maybe The Wedding Knell by Nathaniel Hawthorne?

[Guest]

Dp

Edited December 26, 2016 by Kinsa

[historymatters]

Rappacini's Daughter- Hawthorne

[Lori D.]

Oh how fun! 🙂 I have to confess: I've read 3 of Austen's novels so far, and Northanger Abbey is my favorite, even above Pride and Prejudice! It's so laugh-out-loud funny. It most reminds me of all the shenanigans of high school teens -- gossiping, showing off, who-likes-whom, etc.

I don't think there are any late 18th/early 19th century Gothic short stories (which is when Austen was writing). So to do a comparison, we need to figure out what Gothic elements were used in those late 18th century novels that Austen was parodying. Pulling from this helpful short guide on Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey by Andrew Moore and the Wikipedia on Gothic Fiction these are elements to look for:

- grotesque / macabre / bizarre setting, characters, and plot elements
- a threatening mystery
- dreams, nightmares, sleepwalking, and sometimes ghosts/haunting
- beautiful and gifted heroine from a high class family
- darkly handsome, romantic man -- often brooding or with tragedy, mystery, or violence as an added element
- characters with mystery or tragedy in their past (foundling/orphan, ward, mysterious stranger, etc. with mysterious deaths, madness, or curse/occult connections)
- a curse, or strange sometimes occultic or supernatural elements to the plot
- settings that include ruins or ancient ancestral homes, often with hidden passages or secret chambers
- often includes Romanticism elements (intense emotions, nature as a force, importance of the spirit and hence spiritualism)

Ann Radcliffe's Udolpho developed the technique of the "explained supernatural" -- every seemingly supernatural element or event ends up having a rational/scientific explanation (think Scooby-Doo -- lol). Matthew Lewis' The Monk (also much referenced in Northanger Abbey) is a lurid tale of depraved monks, sadistic inquistors, ghosts, and black magic or Satanism -- sort of the "hard-core" Gothic of its day.

Based on that, I'd say read the very short 18th/19th century fairy tale of "Bluebeard", plus something else -- previous posters listed good ideas; also:

- 19th century short story "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allen Poe
- 19th century short story "Rapaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- 19th century novella Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe
- 20th century short story "The Pomegranite Seed" by Edith Wharton
- 20th century short upper elementary/young adult book The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

ETA -- PS
And if you decide to do a unit on Gothic Literature:
- Suggestions for a Gothic Lit class?
- Jane Eyre and boys
- What's up with Wuthering Heights?

Edited January 26, 2019 by Lori D.

[historymatters]

Lori said

: "Ann Radcliffe's Udolpho developed the technique of the "explained supernatural" -- every seemingly supernatural element or event ends up having a rational/scientific explanation"

 

My first thought was actually 'Doctor Who'! That's exactly what happens in episodes with supposedly supernatural elements in the trailers; but you can't jump to conclusions because they always come up with a creative explanation for it within the episode.

Edited December 27, 2016 by historymatters

[KarenNC]

My husband suggests checking into something by Arthur Machen, "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" by Ambrose Bierce, or "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Unfortunately, they aren't from Austen's period, but most of the ones we could think of are longer works.

[Emerald Stoker]

Not a short story, but helpful in understanding the book, are William Gilpin's essays on the picturesque (Gilpin is much referenced in NA). You might have your students read a chapter or two of Radcliffe (A Sicilian Romance and The Romance of the Forest are shorter than The Mysteries of Udolpho, I think). Or what about Walpole's Castle of Otranto? It's not quite as long. Or perhaps another almost-contemporary (but later) parody of the Gothic, Thomas Love Peacock's Nightmare Abbey? Peacock is a hoot; I love him.

 

You could also look for a good critical edition of Northanger Abbey, and likely some of the accompanying essays would have some passages from other works (Burney, Smith, Lennox, Radcliffe, etc.) so that your children could at least get the flavour.