Coffeehouse #4

Kianna Carrington

Midterm Essay, ENG 2001

October 19th, 2020

Similarities In Gothic Fictions

Throughout the semester, we have read a number of gothic fictions that has a lot of gothic elements in them. While reading these stories, it came with confusion at first and a liking to them. The stories I truly enjoyed reading the most were “The House of Asterion” by Jorge Luis Borges, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, and “The Black Cat” by Egar Allen Poe. Many of the stories we have read have a lot in common. But in “The House of Asterion” and “A Rose for Emily”, there are so many similarities between the two main characters, Asterion and Emily Grierson.

The short story “The House of Asterion” by Jorge Borges is about a Minotaur, half man half bull, named Asterion, who is feared by the people in the land of Labyrinth. He says to the readers that he is a prisoner in his castle but there are no restrictions holding him by his will, just society. It’s the people who made him feel like a prisoner because they judge him and make him feel less than he is, and they make up rumors about him. He can leave his castle whenever he wants but when he does go out, people are scared and they run away from him. Making him feel bad. He does keep himself entertained by constantly reminding himself that one day his “redeemer” will come, playing games with himself, and even talking to himself. Every nine years, nine people enter his home but they don’t leave, he kills them. He thinks he’s redeeming them by killing them.