Author: Diana Castillo

Diana Castillo

Professor Scanlan

English 2001

29 October 2020

Redemption

Gothic literature is a style of writing that encompasses many elements of horror and death. The overall mood of this writing is gloomy for the most part, but it can also include romance within natural events, individuality and intense emotion of fear and suspense. A major theme of gothic literature that I noticed was redemption. Redemption is present in the character of Emily Grierson in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and character Bartleby in Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street.” 

Emily Grierson is the main character in “A Rose for Emily”. It is a short story about a woman who appeared to be in denial over the death of her father, who was in complete dominance over her life. An example of this is, “None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such.” (Faulkner 3) This death causes a stir of events towards her redemption.   The particular type of redemption Emily Grierson sought out was absolution to redeem her character. Her redemption was sought through killing her husband, Homer. The towns people had already begun to pity her after her father’s death and when she married Homer, then everyone knew she was marrying beneath her and she appeared not of sound mind. She bought arsenic and the townspeople’s reaction indicated she may have been suffering from mental illness. “She will kill herself… and we said it would be the best thing. When she has first begun to be seen with Homer Barron…” (Faulkner 5) On the contrary, she had intended to use on her husband to keep him forever. He had no intention of staying with her so it drove her to such a rash decision. Emily stated “What was left of hum, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay; and upon hum and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and biding dust.”

Another example of redemption seen in the gothic literature stories is that of Bartleby in Herman Melville’s “Bartleby: The Scrivener.” In this story, Bartleby is a copyist for a real estate lawyer who began the job with excellence and slowly drove the other employees crazy. Similar to “A Rose for Emily,” Bartleby appears to have sought out redemption when he refused to examine a document when asked by the lawyer by stating “I would prefer not to”. The second example of his attempt to redeem his character was his response of “I would rather not” during a meeting at his work to a request to make copies. This makes it clear that he was not a very motivated employee and may have had a goal and could possibly have been religious. In another instance, Bartleby also had refused to eat while he was in jail. This was the most serious of his attempts at redeeming his character because it ultimately caused his death. He had shown multiple attempts to seek something other than his complacent position in life. 

In conclusion, redemption was a common theme between the two main characters Emily Grierson and Bartleby of “A Rose for Emily” and “Bartley’s Scrivener.”  Both of these characters presented an absolution type of redemption. Emily Grierson did so through the murder of her husband, Homer. Bartleby may have desired a new life as he was not content with how he was living his current one and did so through his attitude in his job and eventually with his in his final times in a jail cell.  Although not a lot of information is given by the narrator on Bartleby, so we can only assume he may have sought out to redeem his character. 

My favorite story out of the seven read is “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri. In this story my favorite character would have to be the cab driver/tour guide, Mr. Kapasi. I think he became the most interesting because we were able to see a what he was thinking and the thought process behind his crazy imagination. He appeared to have been fascinated with having an almost romantic attraction to a tourist wife, Mrs.Das. The  story allowed us to read his sometimes explicit thoughts towards her throughout his tour. His feelings toward her changed in the end of the story which made it slightly comical to me. He seemed to have so quickly lost the once so intense attraction in the blink of an eye. 

 The characters of Mr.Kapasi and Mrs.Das would be the main characters because of how much backstory is provided about both of their lives. It made them the center of most every scene.  Out of all the interactions in the story,  the two most impactful were that of Mr.Kapasi’s initial fantasy of exchanging letters with Mrs. Das and the other would be when Mrs.Das confided in him to as a counselor by revealing the real father of her son Bobby. This changed the way Mr. Das thought of her and he knew she didn’t feel the same towards him. This brought his mind back to “reality”. 

The main character, Mr. Kapasi follows two types of ethics: Utilitarian and Virtue. Utilitarian because he knew both him and Mrs.Das appeared to have failing marriages and he sought out to fix it in the begging. He also follows virtue because of his side job. His initial passion was not to be a tour guide but as an interpreter. He falls under the category of human flourishing or performing one’s functions well. 

In the story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, I think that the main character, Emily Grierson is a paradox. The entire story produces strong mixed feelings between love/hate and respect/contempt. Another paradox, In a particular point, to look down on a pharmacist, Emily must look up at him. This reflected how vague her social position was. She had insisted on her superiority, more specifically due to her last name. It is interesting because since her father’s death, she was left poor and had much pity from the rest of the town people. A redemption within the story would also be Emily. Her was given the opportunity to redeem herself by being a wife to Homer Barron. Although he wasn’t seen very highly due to his social status or occupation, being a wife was seen as high status in society for Emily. 

In A Tale of Wall Street by Herman Melville, Bartleby is a paradox because his principles. These principles tend to tear him down, but at the same time his attempt to keep up with those principles is what can help in the end. This was a very self-contradictory way of acting. For example when he was willing to be lawyer yet refused to have personal contact since he strongly thought it was fake or seen as so.

As for an example of redemption within the story, A Tale of Wall Street, it would be the last act of Bartleby the Scrivener. This I think is because he starved to death in prison as a sacrifice. He this fasting to peacefully preserve his principles within his faith. It was a very religious act that really displayed the definition of the word redemption which is the act of being saved from sin, evil or error.

Diana Castillo

Magical Realism is present in both Latin American authors’ work. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” and “The House of Asterion” blend elements of fantasy and realism to create this unique style of writing. García Márquez’s story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” presented a gothic character element of mysterious people. The old man appeared dreamlike and not fully human because he had wings, but exhibited human reactions such as the ones displayed at the cruel treatment of the crowd that came to seek healing from him. Jorge Luis Borges also used mysterious people element for him main character in “The House of Asterion.” At first, the narrator accused Asterion of arrogance, madness and having a dislike of all human kind that caused him to be locked away in solitude as a prisoner. Eventually it is revealed that he is a half-bull half-man creature called a Minotaur.

Death/near death is the second similarity between these two stories. The narrator revealed a routine of death in “The House of Asterion”. Every nine years nine people enter the house of Asterion and do not leave. We can only insinuate that it is due to the Minotaur. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” also has the main character experience death, but is near death for the old man who is found. When the doctor examined his state, he was surprised that such an unhealthy being was still alive.

The setting in gothic fiction is crucial in developing the story so that readers can visualize and experience as the story develops. “The House of Asterion” takes place in an isolated and dark castle. This created a creepy environment with no potential of help or support for whatever lives in or even goes into this castle. The other story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” is set in village along with water during a rainstorm that lasted several days.