I was also thinking that I could squash both terms entirely and switch my term to “romance” as we think of it today. At its core, this story is a tale of romance, but the supernatural elements and dark tone of the overall story make it a non-stereotypical romance. So maybe I could argue that it defies the traditional rules of a romance story by containing horrific elements..
Monthly Archives: January 2012
The Spectre Bridegroom, Part 2
Originally in class, I settled on applying the term “Romanticism” to The Spectre Bridegroom for my paper. But after re-reading the story with the terms Gothic and Romanticism in mind, I’m quite confused about what I should do. The story contains elements of both gothic and romantic stories (I suppose it could be called a Gothic Romance). However, upon reflection, I have decided that it’s actually more Romantic than it is Gothic. It’s more of a romantic tale because the hero relies more on his emotion than logic (he pursues the girl even though he knows they are from rival families), the nature is described as raw and wild, Starkenfaust uses his imagination to make it appear as though he is a ghost, and the daughter is freed from her oppressive aunts and father. Upon first reading the story, I assumed that it was a Gothic tale rather than a Romantic one because it had all the frightening elements, but Irving uses these elements almost ironically. Sure, there is a mystery surrounding the “spectre” bridegroom who appears, but in the end it turns out that it was Starkenfaust the whole time. There are no supernatural characters after all, only a man who pretends to be one so he can unite with his love. The story also has sort of a “happily-ever-after” ending with the two lovers being married and receiving no backlash from the girl’s father. Nothing bad actually happens to anyone in this story (except for poor Von Altenburg who dies, but that could be argued as a natural i.e. romantic occurrence that must take place so Starkenfaust and the girl can meet). While it appears Gothic and has been written to contain elements of the supernatural, decaying castles, and frightened women, it’s more of a mock Gothic. It’s kind of like Irving was playing a joke on us the whole time, leading us to assume that it’s a tale of horror and mystery, when in reality it’s kind of a weirdly happy story about love. So my confusion lies in which term to use for my paper now. Do I still use Romanticism and argue that the term doesn’t wholly apply to the story because Irving wrote it to appear Gothic, so while it’s principles lie in Romanticism, its structure lies in the Gothic? Or do I use Gothic and argue that while, yes, it does contain most of the ordinary elements of a Gothic story, it is not one by nature because it revolves around Romantic ideals? I could also argue for the term Gothic that it contains all the elements but in truth is a mock Gothic because of the way the story unfolds and ends. Basically I’m just confused because Irving veils the Romantic elements of the story with the Gothic elements of the story. Decisions, decisions…
Another Side Note…
In my last post, I briefly talked about how people often view fairytale love as the ideal. However, a lot of people don’t realize that the original tales that our commonplace Disney stories sprang from are actually pretty gruesome. The original “Snow White” ends with the evil queen dancing herself to death in red-hot iron shoes. In “The Little Mermaid,” the mer princess trades in her tongue (or voice) for a magical potion from a sea witch that makes her human just as Ariel does. However, while the original little mermaid gains legs, it is said that when she walks it feels as though she is walking on sharp knives. On top of that, she never wins the love of the prince and instead turns into sea foam. If you’re interested in more original “happily ever after” tales, you can look them up on Google or in a library. It’s interesting to think that such joyous children’s films came from stories that initially were more horrific than happy.
Oh and don’t get me wrong, I still love the Disney films. Sometimes all people need is a story with a happy ending.
The Spectre Bridegroom
Of what we’ve already read, The Spectre Bridegroom has to be my favorite story of Washington Irving’s. A grim and gripping story, it follows the arrival of an alleged spectre bridegroom to the castle of Baron Von Landshort. On his way to meet his betrothed, Count Von Altenburg falls victim to a fatal wound and asks his dear friend Herman Von Starkenfaust to go immediately to the Baron’s castle and report what has happened. At first, I suspected that the visitor on the black steed was Starkenfaust coming to report the news of the bridegroom’s death. But as the story goes on, the family’s belief that he was a spectre soon deluded me into believing it too. When the spectre appears outside of the daughter’s window, causing her aunt to faint, I began to question whether the “ghost” was really just Starkenfaust or an actual ghost. Irving, though he can write quite densely at times, has a way of getting the reader to fully immerse him/herself into the story, almost as though we too are visitors at the Baron’s castle. Only at the end when Starkenfaust finally reveals himself did I fully accept that it was him. Though Irving himself says that “you must have known all the while, he was no goblin” (141), he manages to sprinkle seeds of doubt into the reader’s mind through his storytelling, making the tale that much more compelling. I also loved this story because of the darkness of the romantic plot; it struck as me as something Tim Burton would turn into a movie as he has a particular affinity for twisted and darkly captivating tales of love. He even has a movie with a slightly similar basis called the Corpse Bride, and though the story is different, the central premise of a ghost and a human falling in love remains. (As a side note, Tim Burton has actually turned a Washington Irving tale into a movie; he directed the 1999 film adaptation of Sleepy Hollow). There’s something interesting in the notion that love can spring to life from a dark seed, similar to “a rose bud blushing forth among [thorns]” (131) as Irving puts it. People often jump straight to fairytale love as the ideal, but there’s something strangely endearing in a love that has a darkness to it – it’s more realistic, I suppose, though there’s a probably a better word than that for what I’m trying to get at.
Here are a few movie posters for some of Tim Burton’s films that revolve around a twisted love story:
While I’m on the subject of seas…
Here’s a photo I took in Greece this past summer and a link to one of my favorite songs that tells a different story of the sea:
Unknown
What struck me most as I was reading Washington Irving’s “The Voyage” were the themes of solitude and the unknown that weaved their way through the story. The short story begins with Irving discussing the idea that a sea voyage “makes us conscious of being cast loose from the secure anchorage of settled life” (Irving 6). This notion that going out to sea for some time isolates us from the world, despite our being surrounded by sailors and other voyagers, holds some truth in my opinion. While on a ship, a person severs himself from land; and despite all the people around, a voyage is a very solitary experience. Irving details how on his trip, he withdrew into himself, spending his days daydreaming and musing about the sea. You could even read further into this by believing that the voyage is a metaphor for life, and though billions of people are living together in this world, you are ultimately alone in your own existence. A disconcerting thought for some, it remains true: we share the world, but our lives our own belongings. In the end of the story, Irving delves into the subject of isolation even further by expressing that he “alone was solitary and idle” with “no friend to meet [and] no cheering to receive” (11) upon the ship’s arrival on land. While a crowd of people surrounded the ship, happy for its arrival and its passengers, Irving stood alone among many, feeling like a stranger in the land of his forefathers. Again, the theme of solitude among the masses appears, and while in this instance Irving feels alone because he knows no one there, even those that are being welcomed by family members and friends remain by themselves though it appears that they do not. The unknown is another prominent theme in Irving’s story. While at sea, he spends his time imagining the “fathomless valleys,” “shapeless monsters,” and “wild phantasms” that lurk below the surface of the water. While one can imagine whatever one wants, the fact remains that nobody can really know what lies in the unknown. While witnessing a ship wreck, Irving wonders to himself about the mistresses, wives, and mothers who are left not knowing what has happened to the fallen members of that ship. The sight of the ship stirs the crew members on Irving’s voyage to share their own scary tales of wreckage. The captain’s tale has all the elements of the unknown: the obscuring fog, the unexpected collision, and the uncertainty of the crew’s fate. These elements are of course what make the tale a horrific one. After all, the reason the movie Jaws strikes terror in the hearts of its viewers is not the obviously mechanical, giant shark that hunts people, but rather the fear of not knowing who and when it will strike or what else lies beneath the surface of the water.The unknown is a haunting thought because people fear what they don’t know. If a horror movie or scary campfire tale were to outline when and how each victim would be attacked, the story would not accomplish its intended goal of being terrifying; it would simply be a predictable and boring story.
Here’s a link to the chilling opening scene of Jaws. You don’t even see the shark, but you’re terrified all the same. Chrissie’s Last Swim
Welcome!
Welcome to my page! My name is Arielle. This blog is really just a space for me to express myself creatively with the added bonus of partial anonymity. It will have a little bit of everything, but mostly it will be about stories. I love stories: telling them, writing them, hearing them. Even back when I was little, I always knew I wanted to have a job involving story-telling. Back then it was actress, but nowadays it’s more like screenwriter. I love writing for so many reasons. It’s a way to entertain others and make people happy. An outlet for inner turmoil and emotion. Something to engage both your mind and heart. And my favorite reason for writing is that it’s essentially a grown-up excuse to play make-believe every single day like you did when you were a kid. To write and enjoy stories, you have to use your imagination, think outside of the box, live in completely different worlds from your own, and create whole characters in your head. While talent obviously plays a role in good story-telling, passion and imagination are what’s more important. So that is what this blog is going to be about: my passion for writing stories and the importance of using imagination in your daily life.
One of my favorite literary characters, portrayed by one of my favorite actresses. Everyone should check out this movie, if you haven't already. Let yourself fall down the rabbit hole.
World of Wonder 