Fatalism and Hope

It’s a common enough plot arc in Gothic literature: the protagonist, peacefulclear of conscience at the outset of the tale, commits a fatal error which leads to utter ruin. The reader is given to understand that this outcome is positively inevitable, akin to the fulfillment of prophecy in Oedipus Rex.

This fatalist atmosphere builds the image of human depravity, suggesting that even the kindest and most peaceful person teeters on the brink of doom and destruction and requires only the smallest push to send him over. In “The Black Cat,” the narrator suggests that everything was going swimmingly until he began drinking. “Roger Malvin’s Burial” paints the protagonist as an essentially honest man who, wounded and exhausted, neglects his duty and lies about it. In both cases, they do not suspect that these actions will serve as curses, beginning series of events that lead one to the gallows and the other to filicide (no, it's a real word, see?).

Until they perform that first action, however, we see another “natural state,” unsophisticated innocence. Reuben wrestles with his conscience in a charming and unselfconscious display of goodwill, while the narrator of “The Black Cat” enjoyed Pluto’s company for many years (if we trust his narrative). Moreover, Gothic fascination with the grotesque leads the authors to contrast the increasingly twisted main characters with secondary characters made of goodness and light. Dorcas is so unacquainted with dishonesty that it never even occurs to her to think the worst, neither doubting her husband’s honesty nor worrying at the ominous silence after the gunshot. Her husband cannot keep from depravity; Dorcas cannot help but be good.

The Use of Gothic Elements in Poe and Hawthorne

Poe’s story, “The Black Cat,” chronicles the fall of a man from innocence into corruption. The narrator states that he was always fond of animals and had many pets. However, driven by “the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance,” the narrator tortures and eventually lynches his favorite black cat. The gruesome actions of the narrator incite the reader’s horror, a gothic element that shows the narrators responsibility in the death. The narrator makes sure that he distances himself from his actions by blaming the external force of alcohol for his loss of sanity and innocence. But what caused him to drink in the first place? His natural depravity, of course. He uses reasoning to show that he still possesses his humanity. However, his lack of empathy is what truly angers him. The narrator attempts to kill the second cat because it seems to be more human than he is. The world around him shows him his depravity, such as when his house burns down and his wife’s tomb in the wall howls when the police are there. These gothic elements elucidate the depravity of the narrator’s loss of empathy and innocence.

In “My Kinsman, Major Molineux,” Hawthorne tells the coming of age story of Robin, a youth from the country seeking his kinsman to help him set up a living as he moves from innocence to experience. He arrives in town when it is ominously dark, signaling that he is moving away from the light (and innocence) of the country. The people he meets also possess a duality; when Robin asks where he can find Major Molineux, the people are brisk, angry, or silent. When Robin walks away, they all laugh cheerfully at the irony that Molineux will be killed very soon by a mob. These gothic elements confirm Robin’s original naiveté. Robin initially thinks that he will simply go home after he finds out the fate of his kinsman, but decides that it serves his interests better to join the rebellious mob and become part of the “community of sin.” He begins to understand that this is how the world works; his innocence would not allow him to adapt so he leaves it behind by embracing human depravity.

Both these stories contain the paradoxical idea that innocence is innate, but there is also a natural depravity that counteracts this. The gothic elements, such as the darkness or morbidity of the people or actions, are used as signals to demonstrate that things are changing and innocence can no longer remain.