The Detection of Anticipations of a Series of Gothic Novelists After

176 The detection of anticipations of a series of gothic novelists after Radcliffe has been manifested by the canons of critical tradition either of past or present. The cornerstone of a new genre once again, like her predecessors, Aphra Behn, Frances Burney and Maria Edgeworth, was laid by Ann Radcliffe in the completion of the sub-genres of novel in the field of gothic. Encyclopaedia Britannica under the entry of Ann Radcliffe states: ...the most representative of English Gothic novelists. She stands apart in her ability to infuse scenes of terror and suspense with an aura of romantic sensibility. Like other pioneers, Radcliff, on the one hand, worked on the possibilities of her innovation as a fully-shaped work and, on the other hand, left the inviting gates of succession ajar for the future daring authors whose literary tastes resembled that of hers. Her Mysteries of Udolpho gained a reputation higher than the author herself which later on made writers and critics call and know her by her work, to the extent that a book with the title of The Mistress of Udolpho was published on the author’s life by Rictor Norton. The popular and critical acclaim of The Mysteries of Udolpho established Ann Radcliffe as one of the most successful novelists of the eighteenth century.1 177 History has proven that Radcliffe was no less a cause in preparation of the ground for Jane Austen and Mary Shelley though both these two writers may have far outshone Radcliffe in their creation of more complicated plots and sophisticated characterization. Judicious criticism and sound consciences must never underestimate the attempts one had shown in the initiation of any intellectual movement. The risks of rejection by the public, condemnation of the critics and refusal of the publishers had been taken by those who had come forth with new ideas. Beside her innovative style of gothic novel, Radcliffe introduced a new approach to the field of literary description for the first time. The term ‘touristic literature’ is coined with Radcliffe. Radcliffe was the first to put tourism at the service and centre of the Romantic novel. In her work the gothic novel incorporates and is in turn transformed by the narrative conventions of the “old” romances and the vocabulary, socio-aesthetic assumptions, and descriptive techniques of Early-Romantic poetry and late eighteenth-century tour books.2 Her works were influential on many later writers, including Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Edgar Allan Poe, John Keats, Lord Byron, Charles Dickens and Henry James; however, some contemporary critics insist on dismissing Radcliffe entirely; either they have dignified themselves 178 so highly that they do not vouchsafe a glance at her; or at most, give her an incidental consideration as a minor writer; or they might have misunderstood the author’s modest confession: And if the weak hand that has recorded this tale, has, by its scenes, beguiled the mourner of one hour of sorrow, or, by its moral, taught him to sustain it –the effort, however humble, has not been in vain, nor is the writer unrewarded.3 This chapter will try to focus on those aspects of her life and works which anticipated other writers and their novels. 1. Ann Radcliffe; A Life In 1883 Christina Rossetti abandoned her efforts at a biography of Ann Radcliffe because the material was too meagre to make such a project feasible. Subsequent biographers have been frightened off by Rossetti’s estimation that the material was insufficient for the purpose,...4 Ann Radcliffe’s works supersedes her life. Gothic rumours are in abundance about her personal life: It is said that she had gone mad as a result of her dreadful imagination: It is said that she had been confined to an asylum: It is said that she had been captured as a spy in Paris: It is said that she ate raw pork chops before retiring to stimulate nightmares for her novels: It was said that several times she was falsely rumoured to be dead in 179 her life time. These are all uncertain estimations of or attributions given to her real life in order to make it match with her fictional one. But what is certain is that Radcliff, at the age of twenty three, has been happily married to a husband who inspired her with confidence to write. Fortunately Ann Radcliffe was nurtured by a literary husband, who encouraged her to employ her leisure time in writing. No doubt they saw themselves as literary establishment. 5 Ann did not have any child and it might have resulted in her immediate determination to work with full time at her disposal and being categorised among prolific novelists; however, the grief of childlessness has been scattered throughout the works. Radcliffe could imagine the pain she would encounter at her old age by the time that she was still in her thirties when she was writing The Mysteries of Udolpho. … she has several children, who are all dancing on the green yonder, as merry as grasshoppers –and long may they be so! I hope to die among them, monsieur. I am old now, and cannot expect to live long, but there is some comfort in dying surrounded by one’s children.’ ‘My good friend.’ said St Aubert, while his voice trembled, ‘I hope you will long live surrounded by them.’6 Ann Ward, the only child of the family, was born in 1764 in London not to a wealthy family of privilege but of middle class. She was still a child when the family relocated to Bath. Her parents worked hard to support 180 themselves and their child. She is believed to have attended a school run by Harriet and Sophia Lee, who were innovators in the development and writing of Gothic drama and fiction. The impact, the school left on Ann, was immense. The sisters Harriet, Sophia and Ann Lee, following their father’s death in 1781, opened a school at Bath for some 70 daughters of the gentry. To supplement their income, Sophia and Harriet Lee each wrote several novels, dramas and translations... dealt with such Gothic subjects as the relationship between science and supernatural... The Recess was said to be one of Ann Radcliffe’s favourite novels.7 2. Ann Radcliffe; Historical Background Any attempt to analyse Radcliffe’s creative character and her Gothic creations would seem incomplete without a close survey of the French Revolution, as there is seemingly an intermingled destiny between these two. The initial spark of the French Revolution fell in Europe from the American Revolution which led to defeat of Britain and resulted in Declaration of Independence in 1776. A decade later, the French, who had backed American Revolution, became the victim of the same social and political radical upheaval in 1790s. During the French Revolution, France was to suffer fundamental changes in its social and governmental structure 181 which was accompanied by brutal executions, bloodshed and terror. The period is also called the Reign of Terror, The Terror or la Terreur in French language. Guillotine, by which thousands of ‘enemies of the revolution’ were beheaded, had become the national symbol of France. The sharp rise in number of the Terror’s victims began in October: precisely at the moment when the situation was improving. The phenomenon was very clear in Paris: almost 200 guillotined at the end of 1793.... The guillotine simultaneously wiped out the ancien regime and the first years of the Revolution.8 Fear had penetrated all layers of man’s life and famine had reigned side by side with terror. It had filled the affairs of all classes from their bread and butter up to their art and literature. Paris was the scene of daily excitement, a permanent meeting-place. From the economic viewpoint, nothing was conducive to calm: bread had never been so dear, there were large numbers of unemployed, whose ranks were swollen by a population which rural poverty had recently driven to the capital.9 182 Gothic stories had become the taste of the town. Gothic, nourished on fear, could be the literary form which sprouted out of dark side of romanticism in order to cope with the literary fashion of the French Revolution. The 1790s can be called the decade of Gothic fiction. It was the period when the greatest number of Gothic works were produced and consumed. Terror was the order of the day. Gothic stories littered literary magazines, there-and four-volume novels filled the shelves of circulating libraries and, in their cheap card covers, found their way into servants’ quarters as well as drawing rooms.10 Botting in his book Gothic, investigates the relationship between the political and the private lives of the people of the then England. He believed that Terror Gothic novel produced had ‘an over-whelming political significance in the period’. The decade of the French Revolution saw the most violent of challenges of monarchical order ... there is a significant overlap in literary and political metaphors of fear and anxiety:...11 183 3. Ann Radcliffe; Her Works and Anticipations Ann Radcliffe 1. The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne 1789 2. A Sicilian Romance 1790 3. The Romance of the Forest 1791 4. The Mysteries of Udolpho 1794 5. The Italian 1797 6. Gaston de Blondeville 1826 In Ann’s time, novels were thought to be trash, but she mysteriously dragged the new genre out of its base placement and elevated it into a higher literary form with an incomparable supernatural power of deities and goddesses, because of which she was named ‘the mighty magician’ similar to Pythoness of Apollo, ‘brought up and nourished in the sacred cavern’.

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