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The '''Gothic double''' is a motif in [[literature]] which refers to the polarity of [[good and evil]] within a character. Closely linked to the [[Doppelgänger]], a term which first appeared in the 1796 novel [[Siebenkäs|''Siebenkas'']] by Johann Paul Richter, the double figure emerged in [[Gothic Literature|Gothic literature]] in the late 18th century due to a resurgence of interest in mythology and folklore which explored notions of duality, such as the [[Fetch (folklore)|fetch]] in Irish folklore which refers to a double figure of a family member, often signifying an impending death.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Roger |last=Luckhurst |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1292078562 |title=Gothic : an illustrated history |date=2021 |publisher=Thames & Hudson Ltd |isbn=978-0-500-25251-2 |oclc=1292078562}}</ref>
The '''Gothic double''' is a motif in [[literature]] which refers to the polarity of [[good and evil]] within a character. Closely linked to the [[Doppelgänger]], a term which first appeared in the 1796 novel [[Siebenkäs|''Siebenkas'']] by Johann Paul Richter, the double figure emerged in [[Gothic Literature|Gothic literature]] in the late 18th century due to a resurgence of interest in mythology and folklore which explored notions of duality, such as the [[Fetch (folklore)|fetch]] in Irish folklore which refers to a double figure of a family member, often signifying an impending death.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Roger |last=Luckhurst |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1292078562 |title=Gothic : an illustrated history |date=2021 |publisher=Thames & Hudson Ltd |isbn=978-0-500-25251-2 |oclc=1292078562}}</ref>


A major shift in Gothic literature occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, where evil was no longer situated within a physical location such as a haunted castle, but expanded to inhabit the mind of characters, often referred to as "the haunted individual."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1998 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Clive |title=Gothic Horror |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1}}</ref> An example of early texts which utilise the Gothic double motif are [[James Hogg|James Hogg’s]] ''[[The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner|Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner]]'' (1824), [[Charles Maturin|Charles Maturin’s]] ''[[Melmoth the Wanderer]]'' (1820), as well as [[Robert Louis Stevenson|Robert Louis Stevenson's]] novella ''[[Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'' (1886).
A major shift in Gothic literature occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, where evil was no longer situated within a physical location such as a haunted castle, but expanded to inhabit the mind of characters, often referred to as "the haunted individual."<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Aguirre |first=Manuel |date=1998 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Clive |title=On Victorian Horror |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1 |journal=Gothic Horror: A Reader’s Guide from Poe to King and Beyond |pages=214 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1}}</ref> An example of early texts which utilise the Gothic double motif are [[James Hogg|James Hogg’s]] ''[[The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner|Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner]]'' (1824), [[Charles Maturin|Charles Maturin’s]] ''[[Melmoth the Wanderer]]'' (1820), as well as [[Robert Louis Stevenson|Robert Louis Stevenson's]] novella ''[[Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'' (1886).


In the early 20th century, the Gothic double motif expanded to new mediums such as film to explore an emerging fear of technology replacing humanity.<ref>{{Citation |last=Webber |first=Andrew J. |title=Gothic Revivals: The Doppelgänger in the Age of Modernism |date=1996-06-27 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159049.003.0006 |work=The Doppelgänger |pages=317–357 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=2022-03-25}}</ref> A notable example of this is the [[German Expressionism (cinema)|German expressionist]] film ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]'' by [[Fritz Lang]] (1927), as well as ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]'' (1956) and [[Westworld (film)|''Westworld'']] (1973). In the 21st century, the Gothic double motif has been used in film and literature to explore gender identities, referred to as the "Trans Gothic"<ref>{{Cite book |first=Roger |last=Luckhurst |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1292078562 |title=Gothic : an illustrated history |date=2021 |publisher=Thames & Hudson Ltd |isbn=978-0-500-25251-2 |oclc=1292078562}}</ref> and apparent in the film ''[[The Skin I Live In]]'' (2011) and the novel ''[[Confessions of the Fox]]'' (2020).
In the early 20th century, the Gothic double motif expanded to new mediums such as film to explore an emerging fear of technology replacing humanity.<ref>{{Citation |last=Webber |first=Andrew J. |title=Gothic Revivals: The Doppelgänger in the Age of Modernism |date=1996-06-27 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159049.003.0006 |work=The Doppelgänger |pages=317–357 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=2022-03-25}}</ref> A notable example of this is the [[German Expressionism (cinema)|German expressionist]] film ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]'' by [[Fritz Lang]] (1927), as well as ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]'' (1956) and [[Westworld (film)|''Westworld'']] (1973). In the 21st century, the Gothic double motif has been used in film and literature to explore gender identities, referred to as the "Trans Gothic"<ref>{{Cite book |first=Roger |last=Luckhurst |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1292078562 |title=Gothic : an illustrated history |date=2021 |publisher=Thames & Hudson Ltd |isbn=978-0-500-25251-2 |oclc=1292078562}}</ref> and apparent in the film ''[[The Skin I Live In]]'' (2011) and the novel ''[[Confessions of the Fox]]'' (2020).
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=== ''Siebenkas'' (1796) ===
=== ''Siebenkas'' (1796) ===
The [[German Romanticism|German Romantic]] novel ''[[Siebenkäs|Siebenkas]]'' features the first appearance of the term [[doppelgänger]], meaning double-walker.<ref>{{Cite book |last=author. |first=Luckhurst, Roger, |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1240494680 |title=Gothic : an illustrated history |isbn=0-500-25251-3 |oclc=1240494680}}</ref> <ref>{{Citation |last=Boos |first=Sonja |title=Fiction’s Scientific Double: Hallucinations in Jean Paul’s Siebenkäs |date=2021 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82816-5_3 |work=The Emergence of Neuroscience and the German Novel |pages=47–70 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-82815-8 |access-date=2022-05-03}}</ref> A footnote in the novel which first coins the term defines doppelgänger as “the name for people who see themselves.”<ref>{{Cite book |last=author. |first=Luckhurst, Roger, |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1240494680 |title=Gothic : an illustrated history |isbn=0-500-25251-3 |oclc=1240494680}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Andrew. |first=Webber, |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/252646732 |title=The Doppelgänger : double visions in German literature |date=1996 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-167346-7 |oclc=252646732}}</ref> Unlike the supernatural fetch in Celtic folklore, in ''Siebenkas'' the doppelgänger is initially not a supernatural [[Ghost|apparition]] or [[hallucination]] but Siebankas’ friend Leibgeber who looks very similar to Siebenkas except for his limp.<ref>{{Citation |last=Boos |first=Sonja |title=Fiction’s Scientific Double: Hallucinations in Jean Paul’s Siebenkäs |date=2021 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82816-5_3 |work=The Emergence of Neuroscience and the German Novel |pages=47–70 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-82815-8 |access-date=2022-05-03}}</ref> However, later in the novel the term doppelgänger begins to take on the meaning of a hallucination when Leibgeber is represented as Siebenkas’ [[alter ego]] or spectre rather than just his [[Look-alike|lookalike]] friend (Boos 64). This novel marked the beginning of the Gothic double motif as a sinister [[Dissociative identity disorder|split personality.]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Boos |first=Sonja |title=Fiction’s Scientific Double: Hallucinations in Jean Paul’s Siebenkäs |date=2021 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82816-5_3 |work=The Emergence of Neuroscience and the German Novel |pages=47–70 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-82815-8 |access-date=2022-05-03}}</ref>
The [[German Romanticism|German Romantic]] novel ''[[Siebenkäs|Siebenkas]]'' features the first appearance of the term [[doppelgänger]], meaning double-walker.<ref>{{Cite book |last=author. |first=Luckhurst, Roger, |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1240494680 |title=Gothic : an illustrated history |isbn=0-500-25251-3 |oclc=1240494680}}</ref> <ref>{{Citation |last=Boos |first=Sonja |title=Fiction’s Scientific Double: Hallucinations in Jean Paul’s Siebenkäs |date=2021 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82816-5_3 |work=The Emergence of Neuroscience and the German Novel |pages=47–70 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-82815-8 |access-date=2022-05-03}}</ref> A footnote in the novel which first coins the term defines doppelgänger as “the name for people who see themselves.”<ref>{{Cite book |last=author. |first=Luckhurst, Roger, |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1240494680 |title=Gothic : an illustrated history |isbn=0-500-25251-3 |oclc=1240494680}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Andrew. |first=Webber, |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/252646732 |title=The Doppelgänger : double visions in German literature |date=1996 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-167346-7 |oclc=252646732}}</ref> Unlike the supernatural fetch in Celtic folklore, in ''Siebenkas'' the doppelgänger is initially not a supernatural [[Ghost|apparition]] or [[hallucination]] but Siebankas’ friend Leibgeber who looks very similar to Siebenkas except for his limp.<ref>{{Citation |last=Boos |first=Sonja |title=Fiction’s Scientific Double: Hallucinations in Jean Paul’s Siebenkäs |date=2021 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82816-5_3 |work=The Emergence of Neuroscience and the German Novel |pages=47–70 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-82815-8 |access-date=2022-05-03}}</ref> However, later in the novel the term doppelgänger begins to take on the meaning of a hallucination when Leibgeber is represented as Siebenkas’ [[alter ego]] or spectre rather than just his [[Look-alike|lookalike]] friend (Boos 64). This novel marked the beginning of the Gothic double motif as a sinister [[Dissociative identity disorder|split personality.]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Boos |first=Sonja |title=Fiction’s Scientific Double: Hallucinations in Jean Paul’s Siebenkäs |date=2021 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82816-5_3 |work=The Emergence of Neuroscience and the German Novel |pages=47–70 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-82815-8 |access-date=2022-05-03}}</ref>

== 19th century Gothic texts ==
Victorian Gothic literature altered depictions of evil to explore the potential darkness of the human mind. Rather than evil being an external force such as a ghost haunting a castle, as apparent in early Gothic texts such as [[Horace Walpole|Horace Walpole’s]] ''[[The Castle of Otranto]]'' (1764), Victorian Gothic literature examined how evil can exist within the minds of individuals.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1998 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Clive |title=Gothic Horror |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1}}</ref> As a result, the double motif was heavily featured in Victorian Horror to explore the innate darkness of humanity rather than just the presence of external sources of evil.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1998 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Clive |title=Gothic Horror |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1}}</ref> Manifestations of the double motif in this period include mirrors, shadows, reflections, and [[Automaton|automatons]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1998 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Clive |title=Gothic Horror |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1}}</ref>

=== Novels ===

==== ''Jane Eyre'' (1847) ====
[[Charlotte Brontë|Charlotte Bronte’s]] novel ''[[Jane Eyre]]'' uses the Gothic double motif to mirror the protagonist [[Jane Eyre (character)|Jane Eyre]] with [[Edward Rochester|Mr Rochester’s]] wife [[Bertha Mason]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=GILBERT |first=SANDRA M. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvxkn74x |title=The Madwoman in the Attic |last2=GUBAR |first2=SUSAN |date=2020-03-17 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-25297-2 |pages=360}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |date=1998 |editor-last=Mulvey-Roberts |editor-first=Marie |title=The Handbook to Gothic Literature |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26496-4 |journal= |pages=118 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-26496-4}}</ref> who is imprisoned in the attic of [[Thornfield Hall]] due to an unidentified mental illness. This doubling between the identities of Jane and Bertha is used to challenge the expected roles of women regarding marriage and sexuality in the [[Victorian era]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Diederich |first=Nicole |date=2010 |title=Gothic Doppelgangers and Discourse: Examining the Doubling Practice of (re)marriage in Jane Eyre |journal=Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies |volume=vol. 6, no. 3 |pages=5}}</ref> In the novel, Bronte alters the typical use of the double figure by placing the motif into a domestic rather than supernatural context which addresses marriage issues, as Jane is the second wife of Mr Rochester who replaces his first wife, Bertha Mason.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> While Jane is initially represented as Bertha’s replacement and therefore her opposite, their identities are doubled in the novel to represent the powerlessness of women during this era,<ref name=":3" /> as both characters are imprisoned within gender stereotypes imposed on them by Mr Rochester. Bertha symbolises Jane’s repressed desires for freedom and independence in a context which restricts women’s lives through marriage,<ref name=":1" /> evident in chapter describing the night before Jane’s wedding where Bertha appears in her bedroom and rips her wedding veil,<ref name=":1" /> as shown in the quote below.<blockquote>''“But presently she took my veil from its place; she held it up, gazed at it long, and then she threw it over her own head, and turned to the mirror. At that moment I saw the reflection of the visage and features quite distinctly in the dark oblong glass…Sir, it removed my veil from its gaunt head, rent it in two parts, and flinging both on the floor, trampled on them.”'' <ref>{{Cite book |last=Bronte |first=Charlotte |title=Jane Eyre |publisher=Vintage |year=2007 |pages=342-343}}</ref></blockquote>This quote uses the mirror motif commonly featured in 19<sup>th</sup> century Gothic literature<ref name=":0" /> to enhance the doubling of Jane and Bertha’s identities. Through staring at herself in the mirror while wearing Jane’s wedding veil and ripping the veil in half, Bertha embodies Jane’s repressed anger and her desire to escape the confines of marriage.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Jane’s longing for independence is finally enacted by Bertha at the end of the novel when she burns down Thornfield Hall, which symbolises a destruction of Mr Rochester’s dominance over her identity.<ref name=":1" />

== 20th century Gothic texts ==

=== Novels ===

==== ''Rebecca'' (1938) ====
[[Daphne du Maurier|Daphne du Maurier’s]] Gothic romance novel ''[[Rebecca (novel)|Rebecca]]'' uses the double motif to explore the inability of women to fulfil gender expectations in the 20<sup>th</sup> century, particularly the idea of a perfect wife.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Pons |first=Auba |date=2013 |title=Patriarchal Hauntings: Re-Reading Villainy and Gender in Daphne Du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca.’ |journal=Atlantis |volume=vol. 35, no. 1 |pages=73}}</ref> This is explored in the struggles of the unnamed narrator who, after impulsively marrying the aristocrat Maxim de Winter, experiences feelings of inadequacy when trying to measure up to the esteemed reputation of his deceased wife Rebecca.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Blackford |first=Holly |date=2005-04 |title=Haunted Housekeeping: Fatal Attractions of Servant and Mistress in Twentieth-Century Female Gothic Literature |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10436920590946859 |journal=Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=247 |doi=10.1080/10436920590946859 |issn=1043-6928}}</ref> As the novel progresses, the narrator becomes increasingly obsessed with the ghostly memory of Rebecca, who she views as the embodiment of an ideal wife.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Pyrhonen |first=Heta |date=2005 |title=Bluebeard’s Accomplice: ‘Rebecca’ as a Masochistic Fantasy |journal=Mosaic Winnipeg |volume=vol. 38, no. 3 |pages=153}}</ref> Echoing the doubling of wives in ''Jane Eyre,''<ref>Beauman, Sally. “Afterward.” In ''Rebecca'', Virago Press, 2015, pp. 432.</ref> ''Rebecca'' centres on a doubling of identities between the timid and obedient second wife<ref>Beauman, Sally. “Afterward.” In ''Rebecca'', Virago Press, 2015, pp. 430.</ref> and the rebellious first wife, Rebecca.<ref name=":6" /> While the narrator views Rebecca as her rival, she is simultaneously her alter ego,<ref>Beauman, Sally. “Afterward.” In ''Rebecca'', Virago Press, 2015, pp. 438.</ref> embodying the rebelliousness and freedom that the narrator is unable to obtain in her marriage to Maxim. This doubling is represented using the mirror motif, much like in ''Jane Eyre'', as evident in the following quote where the narrator dreams that she is Rebecca.  <blockquote>''“I got up and went to the looking glass. A face stared back at me that was not my own. It was very pale, very lovely, framed in a cloud of dark hair. The eyes narrowed and smiled. The lips parted. The face in the glass stared back at me and laughed…Maxim was brushing her hair. He held her hair in her hands, and as he brushed it he wound it slowly into a thick rope. It twisted like a snake, and he took hold of it with both hands and smiled at Rebecca and put it round his neck.”'' <ref>Du Maurier, Daphne. ''Rebecca''. Virago Press, 2015, pp. 426. </ref></blockquote>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 08:24, 3 May 2022

The Gothic double is a motif in literature which refers to the polarity of good and evil within a character. Closely linked to the Doppelgänger, a term which first appeared in the 1796 novel Siebenkas by Johann Paul Richter, the double figure emerged in Gothic literature in the late 18th century due to a resurgence of interest in mythology and folklore which explored notions of duality, such as the fetch in Irish folklore which refers to a double figure of a family member, often signifying an impending death.[1]

A major shift in Gothic literature occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, where evil was no longer situated within a physical location such as a haunted castle, but expanded to inhabit the mind of characters, often referred to as "the haunted individual."[2] An example of early texts which utilise the Gothic double motif are James Hogg’s Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824), Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer (1820), as well as Robert Louis Stevenson's novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).

In the early 20th century, the Gothic double motif expanded to new mediums such as film to explore an emerging fear of technology replacing humanity.[3] A notable example of this is the German expressionist film Metropolis by Fritz Lang (1927), as well as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Westworld (1973). In the 21st century, the Gothic double motif has been used in film and literature to explore gender identities, referred to as the "Trans Gothic"[4] and apparent in the film The Skin I Live In (2011) and the novel Confessions of the Fox (2020).

Origins of the Gothic double

The emergence of the Gothic novel in the 18th century coincided with a renewed interest in Celtic folklore, which is abundant with supernatural double figures.[5] The period from 1750 to 1830 is known as a “Gothic and Celtic revival”[6] in which Irish, Scottish, and Welsh folklore became absorbed into British literature as a result of colonial expansion into these territories.[7] Gothic literature was influenced by the Celtic double figure called the fetch, a lookalike of a relative or friend who would appear as an omen of death if encountered at night, according to Irish and Scottish superstition.[8]

Short stories detailing encounters with fetches began to appear in the early 19th century,[9] such as the tale The Fetches (1825) published by Irish brothers John Banim and Michael Banim, and the collection of ghost-sightings The Night Side of Nature (1848) published by Catherine Crowe.[10] Crowe’s collection of tales featured a chapter detailing encounters with double figures, including John Donne’s claim that he saw a double of his wife holding a dead child in Paris at the same moment she gave birth to their stillborn child in London.[11] In these early Gothic tales, the double was believed to be a sentient spirit which had the ability to leave the physical body and travel to communicate with family members.[12]

Early 18th century Gothic literature

Siebenkas (1796)

The German Romantic novel Siebenkas features the first appearance of the term doppelgänger, meaning double-walker.[13] [14] A footnote in the novel which first coins the term defines doppelgänger as “the name for people who see themselves.”[15][16] Unlike the supernatural fetch in Celtic folklore, in Siebenkas the doppelgänger is initially not a supernatural apparition or hallucination but Siebankas’ friend Leibgeber who looks very similar to Siebenkas except for his limp.[17] However, later in the novel the term doppelgänger begins to take on the meaning of a hallucination when Leibgeber is represented as Siebenkas’ alter ego or spectre rather than just his lookalike friend (Boos 64). This novel marked the beginning of the Gothic double motif as a sinister split personality.[18]

19th century Gothic texts

Victorian Gothic literature altered depictions of evil to explore the potential darkness of the human mind. Rather than evil being an external force such as a ghost haunting a castle, as apparent in early Gothic texts such as Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764), Victorian Gothic literature examined how evil can exist within the minds of individuals.[19] As a result, the double motif was heavily featured in Victorian Horror to explore the innate darkness of humanity rather than just the presence of external sources of evil.[20] Manifestations of the double motif in this period include mirrors, shadows, reflections, and automatons.[21]

Novels

Jane Eyre (1847)

Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre uses the Gothic double motif to mirror the protagonist Jane Eyre with Mr Rochester’s wife Bertha Mason[22][23] who is imprisoned in the attic of Thornfield Hall due to an unidentified mental illness. This doubling between the identities of Jane and Bertha is used to challenge the expected roles of women regarding marriage and sexuality in the Victorian era.[24] In the novel, Bronte alters the typical use of the double figure by placing the motif into a domestic rather than supernatural context which addresses marriage issues, as Jane is the second wife of Mr Rochester who replaces his first wife, Bertha Mason.[24][23] While Jane is initially represented as Bertha’s replacement and therefore her opposite, their identities are doubled in the novel to represent the powerlessness of women during this era,[24] as both characters are imprisoned within gender stereotypes imposed on them by Mr Rochester. Bertha symbolises Jane’s repressed desires for freedom and independence in a context which restricts women’s lives through marriage,[22] evident in chapter describing the night before Jane’s wedding where Bertha appears in her bedroom and rips her wedding veil,[22] as shown in the quote below.

“But presently she took my veil from its place; she held it up, gazed at it long, and then she threw it over her own head, and turned to the mirror. At that moment I saw the reflection of the visage and features quite distinctly in the dark oblong glass…Sir, it removed my veil from its gaunt head, rent it in two parts, and flinging both on the floor, trampled on them.” [25]

This quote uses the mirror motif commonly featured in 19th century Gothic literature[2] to enhance the doubling of Jane and Bertha’s identities. Through staring at herself in the mirror while wearing Jane’s wedding veil and ripping the veil in half, Bertha embodies Jane’s repressed anger and her desire to escape the confines of marriage.[22][23] Jane’s longing for independence is finally enacted by Bertha at the end of the novel when she burns down Thornfield Hall, which symbolises a destruction of Mr Rochester’s dominance over her identity.[22]

20th century Gothic texts

Novels

Rebecca (1938)

Daphne du Maurier’s Gothic romance novel Rebecca uses the double motif to explore the inability of women to fulfil gender expectations in the 20th century, particularly the idea of a perfect wife.[26] This is explored in the struggles of the unnamed narrator who, after impulsively marrying the aristocrat Maxim de Winter, experiences feelings of inadequacy when trying to measure up to the esteemed reputation of his deceased wife Rebecca.[26][27] As the novel progresses, the narrator becomes increasingly obsessed with the ghostly memory of Rebecca, who she views as the embodiment of an ideal wife.[26][27][28] Echoing the doubling of wives in Jane Eyre,[29] Rebecca centres on a doubling of identities between the timid and obedient second wife[30] and the rebellious first wife, Rebecca.[28] While the narrator views Rebecca as her rival, she is simultaneously her alter ego,[31] embodying the rebelliousness and freedom that the narrator is unable to obtain in her marriage to Maxim. This doubling is represented using the mirror motif, much like in Jane Eyre, as evident in the following quote where the narrator dreams that she is Rebecca.  

“I got up and went to the looking glass. A face stared back at me that was not my own. It was very pale, very lovely, framed in a cloud of dark hair. The eyes narrowed and smiled. The lips parted. The face in the glass stared back at me and laughed…Maxim was brushing her hair. He held her hair in her hands, and as he brushed it he wound it slowly into a thick rope. It twisted like a snake, and he took hold of it with both hands and smiled at Rebecca and put it round his neck.” [32]

References

  1. ^ Luckhurst, Roger (2021). Gothic : an illustrated history. Thames & Hudson Ltd. ISBN 978-0-500-25251-2. OCLC 1292078562.
  2. ^ a b Aguirre, Manuel (1998). Bloom, Clive (ed.). "On Victorian Horror". Gothic Horror: A Reader’s Guide from Poe to King and Beyond: 214. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1.
  3. ^ Webber, Andrew J. (1996-06-27), "Gothic Revivals: The Doppelgänger in the Age of Modernism", The Doppelgänger, Oxford University Press, pp. 317–357, retrieved 2022-03-25
  4. ^ Luckhurst, Roger (2021). Gothic : an illustrated history. Thames & Hudson Ltd. ISBN 978-0-500-25251-2. OCLC 1292078562.
  5. ^ author., Luckhurst, Roger,. Gothic : an illustrated history. ISBN 0-500-25251-3. OCLC 1240494680. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Groom, Nick (2014-01-10), "Gothic and Celtic Revivals", A Companion to British Literature, Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 361–379, retrieved 2022-05-03
  7. ^ Groom, Nick (2014-01-10), "Gothic and Celtic Revivals", A Companion to British Literature, Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 361–379, retrieved 2022-05-03
  8. ^ Richmond, W. Edson; Yeats, William Butler (1959-10). "Irish Folk Stories and Fairy Tales". Western Folklore. 18 (4): 342. doi:10.2307/1497773. ISSN 0043-373X. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ author., Luckhurst, Roger,. Gothic : an illustrated history. ISBN 0-500-25251-3. OCLC 1240494680. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ author., Luckhurst, Roger,. Gothic : an illustrated history. ISBN 0-500-25251-3. OCLC 1240494680. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ author., Luckhurst, Roger,. Gothic : an illustrated history. ISBN 0-500-25251-3. OCLC 1240494680. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ author., Luckhurst, Roger,. Gothic : an illustrated history. ISBN 0-500-25251-3. OCLC 1240494680. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ author., Luckhurst, Roger,. Gothic : an illustrated history. ISBN 0-500-25251-3. OCLC 1240494680. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Boos, Sonja (2021), "Fiction's Scientific Double: Hallucinations in Jean Paul's Siebenkäs", The Emergence of Neuroscience and the German Novel, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 47–70, ISBN 978-3-030-82815-8, retrieved 2022-05-03
  15. ^ author., Luckhurst, Roger,. Gothic : an illustrated history. ISBN 0-500-25251-3. OCLC 1240494680. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Andrew., Webber, (1996). The Doppelgänger : double visions in German literature. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-167346-7. OCLC 252646732.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Boos, Sonja (2021), "Fiction's Scientific Double: Hallucinations in Jean Paul's Siebenkäs", The Emergence of Neuroscience and the German Novel, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 47–70, ISBN 978-3-030-82815-8, retrieved 2022-05-03
  18. ^ Boos, Sonja (2021), "Fiction's Scientific Double: Hallucinations in Jean Paul's Siebenkäs", The Emergence of Neuroscience and the German Novel, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 47–70, ISBN 978-3-030-82815-8, retrieved 2022-05-03
  19. ^ Bloom, Clive, ed. (1998). "Gothic Horror". doi:10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. ^ Bloom, Clive, ed. (1998). "Gothic Horror". doi:10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  21. ^ Bloom, Clive, ed. (1998). "Gothic Horror". doi:10.1007/978-1-349-26398-1. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ^ a b c d e GILBERT, SANDRA M.; GUBAR, SUSAN (2020-03-17). The Madwoman in the Attic. Yale University Press. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-300-25297-2.
  23. ^ a b c Mulvey-Roberts, Marie, ed. (1998). "The Handbook to Gothic Literature": 118. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-26496-4. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  24. ^ a b c Diederich, Nicole (2010). "Gothic Doppelgangers and Discourse: Examining the Doubling Practice of (re)marriage in Jane Eyre". Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies. vol. 6, no. 3: 5. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  25. ^ Bronte, Charlotte (2007). Jane Eyre. Vintage. pp. 342–343.
  26. ^ a b c Pons, Auba (2013). "Patriarchal Hauntings: Re-Reading Villainy and Gender in Daphne Du Maurier's 'Rebecca.'". Atlantis. vol. 35, no. 1: 73. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  27. ^ a b Blackford, Holly (2005-04). "Haunted Housekeeping: Fatal Attractions of Servant and Mistress in Twentieth-Century Female Gothic Literature". Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory. 16 (2): 247. doi:10.1080/10436920590946859. ISSN 1043-6928. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ a b Pyrhonen, Heta (2005). "Bluebeard's Accomplice: 'Rebecca' as a Masochistic Fantasy". Mosaic Winnipeg. vol. 38, no. 3: 153. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  29. ^ Beauman, Sally. “Afterward.” In Rebecca, Virago Press, 2015, pp. 432.
  30. ^ Beauman, Sally. “Afterward.” In Rebecca, Virago Press, 2015, pp. 430.
  31. ^ Beauman, Sally. “Afterward.” In Rebecca, Virago Press, 2015, pp. 438.
  32. ^ Du Maurier, Daphne. Rebecca. Virago Press, 2015, pp. 426.
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