Gothic Style in Ann Radcliffe's Writing
Characteristics of Gothics: Kidnapping, Eerie Settings, Heroines
Oct 2, 2009
Ann Radcliffe’s famous book, The Romance of the Forest, contains all of these elements and is a classic example of eighteenth century Gothic style.
Kidnapping
The book begins with mysterious characters on what seems to be an escape from Paris. Needing sustenance and help during a storm, they stop at a small cabin along the way to ask directions to the nearest town. The travellers are a couple, and their groomsman. The man, called Monsieur La Motte, goes to the door and knocks.
- “The door was now opened by a tall figure with a light, who invited La Motte to enter…he was turning to go out when the man suddenly pushed him back, and he heard the door locked upon him: his heart failed…”
- “The voices had ceased, and all remained still for a quarter of an hour, when, between the pauses of the wind, he thought he distinguished the sobs and moaning of a female…the man who had admitted La Motte into the house entered, leading, or rather forcibly dragging along, a beautiful girl, who appeared to be about eighteen. Her features were bathed in tears, and she seemed to suffer the utmost distress.”
- “…if you wish to save your life, swear that you will convey this girl where I may never see her more; or rather consent to take her with you…He now seized the trembling hand of the girl and hurried her towards La Motte, whom surprise still kept silent. She…implored him to have pity on her.”
First, La Motte himself is held in the drab, depressing cabin with no idea of what will happen to him or his wife and belongings. He suspects a band of robbers has got hold of him and intend to rob and kill him and are holding him hostage.
Then, a second example of kidnapping develops when the beautiful heroine, named Adeline, is introduced to La Motte, her beautiful face stained with tears and filled with horror and dread. She has been held by the mysterious strangers, and La Motte is her means of escape.
Ann Radcliffe wastes no time in introducing the theme of abductions into this novel by having both La Motte and Adeline at the mercy of mysterious, seemingly merciless strangers.
Eerie Settings
Ann Radcliffe’s Gothic novels could contain both scenes of great horror and great beauty. Her readers often are jolted from one to the other somewhat suddenly, as if riding along in a rickety carriage along an unsmooth road.
- The cabin La Motte and his party encounter when trying to escape from a storm is described as a “small and ancient house.” Once admitted, La Motte “followed the man through a passage into a room almost unfurnished, in one corner of which a bed was spread upon the floor. The forlorn and desolate aspect of this apartment made La Motte shrink involuntarily…”
- The next eerie, unusual setting takes place when La Motte and his party, which now contains the young woman Adeline, seek shelter for the night. “…as La Motte looked anxiously from the window, he observed upon the vivid glow of the western horizon, some dark towers rising from among the trees…”
- “He approached, and perceived the Gothic remains of an abbey…The greater part of the pile appeared to be sinking into ruins, and that, which had withstood the ravages of time, showed the remaining features of the fabric more awful in decay.”
What a place to stop for the night, but La Motte decides to do so, at least so his wife, Adeline, and the groomsman can have a safe place to rest and regroup and form a plan.
Their footsteps echo in the empty rooms, and their voices are hollow reverberations from the wasting walls, and dark corners could hide anything.
Beautiful Heroines
In The Romance of the Forest, Adeline serves as Ann Radcliffe’s beautiful, but put-upon, heroine.
- “She was now in her nineteenth year; her figure of the middling size, and turned to the most exquisite proportion; her hair was dark auburn, her eyes blue, and whether they sparkled with intelligence, or melted with tenderness, they were equally attractive…”
- She is being held by a band of men with unknown purposes when first introduced, drenched in tears and horror at her situation.
- The La Mottes are kind to her, especially Madame La Motte, who takes pity upon her, and she is assured by the small party that she can be a part of their journey.
- “…Adeline formed for herself in this barren situation, many amusements, that occasionally banished the remembrance of her misfortunes. La Motte’s books were her chief consolation. With one of these she would frequently ramble into the forest, where the river, winding through a glad, diffused coolness, and with its murmuring accents, invited repose…”
Adeline is both terrified and fascinated by the ruined abbey and its wild surroundings, and seeing it through her eyes, readers get a feel of what it must have been like to be there.
Ann Radcliffe crafted Gothic novels with classic elements, including kidnappings, eerie settings, and beautiful, admirable heroines. The Romance of the Forest is a shining example of this type of writing and of Ann Radcliffe’s abilities to describe both horrific events and scenes of natural beauty.
Source: The Romance of the Forest, by Ann Radcliffe, Barnes & Noble Books, 2004.
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