Comparing The Red Room And The Monkey's Paw
Gothic Fiction
In Victorian times there was a lot of controversy between the theories of superstition and science. There was a very public argument between the two, both enforcing different ideas about different aspects of life. The reason for this was because Charles Darwin had come up with the theory of evolution and had gone against all beliefs in religion and in God. Many people disagreed with his theories and idea’s and still chose to believe God created the world and everything on it.
Both superstition and science are both used in gothic fiction but in the fashion of religion against technology. I will be comparing two short stories and see how they explore these conventions of gothic fiction.
The Monkeys Paw, W.W. Jacobs, written …show more content…
There is a young man in both of the stories who does not believe in the superstitions and is not affected by the warnings anyone gives him. These young men would be representing the scientific side of gothic fiction. In both the stories these warnings come from older, sophisticated men. Of whom both have wise qualities about themselves. Because the men are older they have experienced a lot more than any younger person has. But because the young men think they know better, they ignore any warnings from what they might think was a blathering old fool. These old men would be representing the religious side of the argument. There is also a woman who is outside of herself in both stories. In The Red Room there is a woman sitting staring mindless into a fire. And in The Monkey’s Paw, you see a normal woman begin to go crazy after the death of her son. In Victorian times, this would be a very intriguing subject for some. As mental problems, especially in women, was a very popular topic for scientists and people to learn about. Because depression was not known, nor was recognized in those days, when a woman was depressed after something devastating had happened to her, like the loss of a child (like in The Monkey’s Paw) and they became to act outside of themselves, doctors could not put a diagnosis on it. So they would just assume that the woman had become crazy. This was
In Victorian times there was a lot of controversy between the theories of superstition and science. There was a very public argument between the two, both enforcing different ideas about different aspects of life. The reason for this was because Charles Darwin had come up with the theory of evolution and had gone against all beliefs in religion and in God. Many people disagreed with his theories and idea’s and still chose to believe God created the world and everything on it.
Both superstition and science are both used in gothic fiction but in the fashion of religion against technology. I will be comparing two short stories and see how they explore these conventions of gothic fiction.
The Monkeys Paw, W.W. Jacobs, written …show more content…
There is a young man in both of the stories who does not believe in the superstitions and is not affected by the warnings anyone gives him. These young men would be representing the scientific side of gothic fiction. In both the stories these warnings come from older, sophisticated men. Of whom both have wise qualities about themselves. Because the men are older they have experienced a lot more than any younger person has. But because the young men think they know better, they ignore any warnings from what they might think was a blathering old fool. These old men would be representing the religious side of the argument. There is also a woman who is outside of herself in both stories. In The Red Room there is a woman sitting staring mindless into a fire. And in The Monkey’s Paw, you see a normal woman begin to go crazy after the death of her son. In Victorian times, this would be a very intriguing subject for some. As mental problems, especially in women, was a very popular topic for scientists and people to learn about. Because depression was not known, nor was recognized in those days, when a woman was depressed after something devastating had happened to her, like the loss of a child (like in The Monkey’s Paw) and they became to act outside of themselves, doctors could not put a diagnosis on it. So they would just assume that the woman had become crazy. This was