Edmund Burke describes the difference between Clearness and Obscurity with regards to the passion in “A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas Of The Sublime and Beautiful” article.. He argues that the difference between Clearness and Obscurity is far more superior than just reaching the reader’s imagination. “It is one thing to make an idea clear, and another to make it affecting to the imagination. If I make a drawing of a palace, or a temple, or a landscape, I present a very clear idea of those objects; but then my picture can at most affect only as the palace, temple, or landscape would have affected in the reality.”. Burke is arguing that presenting the reader with an image can leave him with the same feeling he would get had the reader observed it from the same perspective in reality. He argues that what leaves a great impression of Obscurity to the reader is through verbal communication “The proper manner of conveying the affections of the mind from one to another, is by words”. I agree with Burke’s brief description of Clearness and Obscurity hence as a reader, I find myself imaging the details of a certain passage by an author, creating a sort of reality illusion, making me more engaged with the reading.

In the Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, before reading the novel, the reader is able to grasp on the idea of the novel taken being somewhere during the medieval times. Hence the title “castle”, first thought that ran across my mind was a sort of defense of some kind. Walpole introduces the reader to the novel with a quick introduction of Prince of Otranto and his children, who Walpole described as ” the latter, a most beautiful virgin, aged eighteen, was called Matilda. Conrad, the son, was three years younger, a homely youth, sickly, and of no promising disposition”. This relates to the sublime of Burke due to the fact Walpole is able to manipulate the reader into thinking that the daughter is by far the most beautiful girl he laid eyes on. In comparison of the other novels we’ve read in class, I strongly believe that Walpole is able to set the illusion of reality and make better connection with the reader than the previous authors. For instance, “At those words he seized the cold hand of Isabella, who was half dead with fright and horror. She shrieked, and started from him, Manfred rose to pursue her, when the moon, which was now up, and gleamed in at the opposite casement, presented to his sight the plumes of the fatal helmet, which rose to the height of the windows, waving backwards”. Through this, the reader is able to learn about Isabella’s set emotions. Furthermore, this relates to the sublime described by Burke as Walpole alerts the reader of Isabella’s mental state and is able to visualize her condition.

The illuminations of the word sublime provided by Edmund Burke in A Philosophical Inquiry Into The Origin Of Our Ideas Of The Sublime And Beautiful imbues me with an entirely new way of observing some of the actions and situations that our protagonist, Theodore, is involved in in the Gothic Novel The Castle of Otranto by Henry Walpole.

Burke relates to us: “The passion caused by the great and sublime in nature, when those causes operate most powerfully, is Astonishment; and astonishment is that state of the soul, in which all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror” (132). With this quote, I now turn to page 30 in Otranto, where our young peasant Theodore has just arrived at the scene of a most grim death of a boy named Conrad. Unfortunately for Theodore, his quick observation of the possible origins for the object that caused this death earns the quick contempt of Conrad’s father, Manfred. Suspicious over Theodore’s claims relating to the death, Manfred immediately begins to lay blame on Theodore, even grappling Theodore with a great haste; “The young peasant himself  was still more astonished, not conceiving how he had offended the prince: yet, recollecting himself, … he disengaged himself from Manfred’s grip”  (Walpole 30). This moment captures perfectly what Burke means by astonishment, Theodore is, but for a moment, overcome by either fear or disbelief at the sudden actions of Manfred, and unable to immediately act against his aggressor without first recollecting himself.

Burke also explores another topic within his essay, and that is the effect of obscurity on the mind and the powerful feelings associated with the possibility that something could be, when one is unable to completely verify the authenticity of it or the danger it might posses; “To make any things very terrible, obscurity seems in general to be necessary. When we know the full extent of any danger … a great deal of the apprehension vanishes” (133). To elucidate my connection with this to Otranto, let us turn to page 47 – 48, where Manfred’s daughter, Matilda, is conversing about the days horrific events with her servant, Bianca. Yet in the midst of this conversation, an odd voice can be heard, much to confusion of both Matilda and Bianca. With further deduction, they soon locate the voice to what would be an otherwise unoccupied chamber beneath them. With the obscurity of the origins for the voice gripping Bianca’s mind, she soon falls victim to the wildest thoughts of the supernatural and surrenders herself to the paralysis that would prevent her from discovering the true answer behind it. “”Oh! dear lady, I would not speak to a ghost for the world!” cried Bianca (Walpole 48). Fortunately for Bianca, Matilda is brave enough to call to the ghost and ascertain it’s true identity, a young peasent by the name of Theodore, resolving the obscurity and putting Bianca’s fears to rest. With this use of obscurity to create tension and apprehension, Walpole makes a great case for the ideas presented by Burke. Because Bianca is left to dwell on her thoughts to the mystery of the voice, obscurity grows and her fears coalesce to the dread of a possible ghost.

 

 

 

In A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Edmund Burke explains his theory of the sublime. One specific passage that stood out to me was when Burke discussed the idea that obscurity is necessary to depict the sublime. Burke points out how any sort of apprehension or tension vanishes when the reader is able to familiarize themselves with what is going to happen. “To make anything very terrible, obscurity seems in general to be necessary. When we know the full extent of any danger, when we can accustom our eyes to it, a great deal of apprehension vanishes.” (Burke). I agree with this idea that Burke presents because as a reader, when there is obscurity and elements that are unknown, it increases the level of interest and passion that a reader has for the story, which creates an appreciation for the sublime.

Obscurity is presented in many different ways in The Castle of Otranto. There are several moments throughout the story where there is little clarity as to what will happen next. There was increased tension and apprehension throughout these moments because of the unknown elements. For example, in the opening of the story, there is a great deal of confusion as to what happened to Conrad. No one can seem to find him. All of a sudden, the servant who was sent to find Conrad “came running back in a frantic manner, his eyes staring, and foaming at the mouth.” (The Castle of Otranto, pg. 28). This immediately creates tension and apprehension for both the characters and the readers. What could have possibly happened to Conrad that made the servant react the way that he did? The obscurity of this moment peaks the interest level of the reader, thus creating an appreciation for the sublimity of the story.

Clara Reeve provides a good description of what Borace Walpole was attempting to accomplish in the narrative of The Castle of Otranto. Walpole writes this narrative in an attempt to “…unite the various merits and graces of the ancient Romance and the modern Novel.”(Reeve 1) In order to accomplish this, Reeve believes that Walpole had to provide a story that excites the reader with absurdities and engages their emotions while remaining somewhat plausible. With this in mind, it is easier to understand what Walpole makes such dramatic decisions in the development of his story.

It may seem absurd to have what seems to be a primary character be killed off within the first five pages, let alone to have him be crushed by a gigantic helmet (Walpole 2). Upon the first reading, this comes across as an inclusion of comedy into the narrative and sets one up for a story filled with comical occurrences. After reading Reeve’s passage however, we are ushered to see this exaggeration as Walpole’s failed attempt at seamlessly mashing the extraordinary with the ordinary. Unfortunately, rather than creating a sense of awe in the reader and bringing us in closer, he has detached us from the narrative and diminished the depth of the story.

With the understanding that the seemingly comical elements of this Novel were meant to feel natural, we can now return to the reading choosing to see it as such. Now, the enormous helmet does not seem like humor, but is simply another step in the progression of this story. We can now look for the next layer in this story and can analyze the passages in search of the deeper meaning behind it all. Rather than laughing at the existence of a sword so large that it takes one hundred men to lift it, we can ask ourselves WHY Walpole included this sword to begin with; we can search for the message that Walpole is sending us.

When I reanalyze the incident with the helmet, I can now see the great symbolism behind it’ occurrence. The helmet, which serves to protect one in the field of battle, has now killed Walpole’s only living hope for immortality. His bloodline, which he cares for more than anything else, has now been placed in danger by this object, which would normally serve to protect. This use of irony on Walpole’s behalf is one of the portions of this narrative that are overshadowed by his inability to blend the extraordinary with the ordinary.

 

Xiu Mei Lin
Professor Hershinow
November 1, 2016
English 4210

The Curse

          The first Gothic novel “The Castle of Otranto” written by Horace Walpole was published in 1764. The novel opens with an introductory of prince Manfred’s family and that he tries to arrange his son, Conrad to marry with Vicenza’s daughter Isabella. But eventually Conrad was crushed to death by a gigantic hamlet. This draws a similar connection with Edmund Burke’s explanation of sublime, “from a philosophical enquiry into the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful” in 1759. It states “the ideas of pain, and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime” (Burke131). In other words, sublime is the opposite of beauty, it gives character the feeling of excitement in horror when they see a specific object. For instance, when Manfred saw the hamlet he states, “a hundred times more large than any casque ever made for human being, and shaded with a proportional quantity of black feathers” (28). This is significant but less pointed, the helmet’s physical appearance “quantity of black feathers” rather than other color but it present as “black” which can both be comparable to a crow and the nature. The crow in our imagery, is that these specie appears in non-beautiful environment. Additionally, the helmet have given out negative energy and it may represents the cruse towards Manfred that he is in danger because the helmet it so unique and it’s beyond human creation, it can represent a punishment of the nature rather than the beauty side of the nature. Since the helmet was met to kill Manfred son, this object brings a physiological effects to Manfred that also creates an overwhelming imagery in his mind which leads him to take evil actions. Manfred said “I cannot give you my son, I offer you myself” (34). When he tries divorce with Hippolita and married Isabella to produce a male heir, so that he could protect his power in the castle and continues his blood line. Also the source states “when danger or pain press too nearly, they are incapable of giving any delight…but at certain distances, and with certain modifications, they may be, and they are delightful.” (Burke 131). Like Manfred, he represents “delight” more than pleasure whereas in this case delight means feeling from painful to pleasure and pleasure stays as feeling good. Overall, the primary source clarify the understanding of the meaning of sublime where the helmet present as an evil object that cause Manfred to shows his feeling of excitement in terror.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Edmund, Burke. From a philosophical enquiry into the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful (1759). Print.

Walpole, Horace. The Castle of Otranto. New York: Dover Publications, 2004. Print.

After reading the Preface to Clara Reeve’s The Old English Baron, it brought back to the helmet that fell on Conrad. Clara Reeve talked about conceiving an idea. The kind of ideas where one can imagine while reading a book and picturing it in his or her mind. However, she goes on to saying that there is a point where that idea one can envision in the mind can only go so far. “For instance, we can conceive, and allow of, the appearance of a ghost; we can even dispense with an enchanted sword and helmet; but then they must keep within certain limits or credibility…When your expectation is wound up to the highest pitch, these circumstances take it down with a witness, destroy the work of imagination, and, instead of attention, excite laughter” (Preface, The Old English Baron). Reeve is noting that sometimes a writer should not go too far into exaggerating an idea. Like the helmet that fell on Conrad. It was not just a regular helmet, it was “a hundred times more larger than any casque ever made for human being” (28, Walpole). The helmet is enormous that it not only makes Manfred taken aback, but also the reader.  In a way it ruins the reader trying to imagine in their minds because it is just too funny and ridiculous of an idea that a helmet that big fell out of no where and crushes Conrad. Therefore, the point is, too much imagination and fantasy may take away from how a reader will envision an idea that is being read because it might just be too much.

Horace Walpole’s gothic novel The Castle Of Otranto is regarded as the first “Gothic” novel of its time. Walpole attempts to fuse ancient romance and modern romance. Walpole takes the “characters can do whatever they want” approach out of ancient romance and disregards the fake and unnatural part of romance. For Modern romance, Walpole gives the reader characters that get better and better throughout the novel but disregards the boring “real” part of modern romance. The combination of these two create Romantic Realism.

Horace Walpole was interested in the middle ages at a time when most people did not want to remember the middle ages. The middle ages was a time of darkness, plague and the fall of the Roman Empire. In the gothic novel The Castle Of Otranto, Walpole brings light to the middle ages by revisiting the middle ages and sets up his gothic novel during the dark times. A connection to Samuel Johnson’s, A Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson gives the definition of the word “Sublime”. The word “Sublime” states, “High in place; exalted aloft.” The connection that is being made is Walpole held Romantic Realism at a high place. By taking the ancient romance and modern romance, Walpole created the beginning of a new literary genre. This shows in the gothic novel because in the first preface Walpole states,”  The principal incidents are such as were believed in the darkest ages of Christianity; but the language and conduct have nothing that savours of barbarism.” Walpole knows the middle ages was a dark and bad time, but what he presents in this gothic novel is far from that.

In comparison of the modern novels The Castle of Ortranto and The Old English Baron, we can clearly see the similarities of Gothic genre or sometimes referred to as Gothic horror. The novel Horace Walpole had written is a classic gothic fiction of horror with a twist of romance. It follows the traditional features of a horror story that pertains a spooky mysterious location, supernatural occurrences, a suffering protagonist and a distressed maiden. In essence The Old English Baron holds a somewhat similar output to Walpole’s novel. Although Clara Reeve’s novel is a gothic novel, it does not go to the extremes of representing horror and romance. There were no extraordinary supernatural occurrences that would surprise the readers like Walpole had done.

This leads to Clara Reeve’s Preface to the second edition, The Old English Baron. In the preface I believe she is confident that “Mankind are naturally pleased with what gratifies their vanity; and vanity, like all passions of the human heart, may be rendered subservient to good and useful purposes”. That being said, Reeve’s novel is a typical ghost story with egotistic characters that majority of the readers would like to read about. She believes the goal of a romance novel is to excite the reader, cause the reader to feel directed to “some useful, or at least innocent, end”. Refer to the image of The Old English Baron and from this image, it excites no sign of horror or gothic elements but a sign of a happy story to a happy ending.

Clara Reeve was staggered and annoyed by Walpole’s writing of its sudden reduction of “enchantments” in the novel. In the preface she claims that Walpole allowed the reader to expect astounding enchantments in the novel such as a “sword so large as to require an hundred men to lift it”. From Reeve’s analysis of the early novel it allowed me to understand the mechanics of Walpole’s gothic novel.

I know some of  you are really enjoying Samuel Richardson’s Pamela. Others not so much. Here are a couple of fun links you can read on your phone on the train: short, fun essays from a (now, sadly, defunct) pop culture website. (Click the titles to read the full posts.)

Does He Like You? A Quiz By Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded

Revisiting Pamela: How To Read Books You Don’t Want To

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