The idea of hell on earth was around well before the gothic writers, the Puritans we have studied believed that they were alone in the wilderness and that the devil was always ready to tempt them away from the righteous path. A new theme of gothic writing would be that the hell we live in is of our own creation. Just as in “Endicott and the Red Cross” where the landscape’s reflection can be seen on Endicott, the opposite must be truth.
The natural depravity of man is easier seen in Poe’s writing. In “The Black Cat”, the narrator blamed his actions on outside influences, mainly alcohol. Until that point, he described himself as a well mannered and caring man, but it is not the alcohol but his reactions to the drug. The drink cannot bring out something that is not already there, so this dark side must have already been within him. Because every human is capable of such actions, it would be hard to describe anyone as fully innocent. The exception to this would be Georgiana from “The Brithmark” who thought only of her husband and agreed to the most dangerous of procedures just to make herself more pleasing for her husband. Unfortunately, the mark was connected to her heart and when it was severed so was her life. Hawthorne shows how depravity of another can corrupt hearts and thus their innocence.
Interesting point about the Puritan community. Consider, however, that Poe's narrator in BC might not be telling the truth about his fall from grace.
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