Jerrold E. Hogle

Robert Miles

This collection provides a thorough representation of the early and ongoing conversation between Gothic and theory - philosophical, aesthetic, psychological and cultural both in the many modes of Gothic and in many of the realms of theory now current in the modern world. Each essay focuses on a particular kind of theory - Gothic relationship, every one of which has a history and each of which is still being explored in enactments of the Gothic and of theory today.

An Edinburgh Companion

The Gothic and Theory

Lily

The Gothic and Theory is the latest addition to the impressive collection, Edinburgh Companions to the Gothic. Edited by Jerrold E. Hogle and Robert Miles, both established scholars of Gothic literature, it's an extensive collection of essays written by multiple scholars, with each essay focusing on a different angle of dialogue between Gothic literature and theory. The books is divided into six parts, each with an overarching theoretical subject. In the compelling introduction to the book, Jerrold Hogle [himself the senior editor of one of the better introductory books to Gothic literature, The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction] makes the case for studying the close relation of Gothic and theory, as the liminal nature of Gothic literature has made room, since the beginning, for extensive speculation and theorizing. It is not so much that Gothic literature is haunted by theory [a pervasive motif in this book], but rather an interweaving relationship, nurtured by the instability of the genre.
This book might be considered a novel apex of the relatively recent, particular surge of academic interest in Gothic literature as a surface that has continuously brought forth figurations that form theoretical articulations. As the chapters progress, we move through psychoanalytical, feminist, Marxist and post-structuralist frameworks, often working in conjunction to theorize different works of Gothic literature, theater and cinema. There isn’t a strict linear progression to the book per se, but it can be said that the theoretical analysis truly culminates in Part V, The Gothic before and after Post-structuralism. Hogle posits (quoting Allan Lloyd Smith) in the introduction, "the Gothic from the start, more than most discourses, has always been pre-post-structuralist, as well as pre-postmodern"; as such, there has been a wealth of theorizing within post-structuralist framework regarding Gothic oeuvres. This is not to say that the conventional psychoanalytical and historicist lenses are absent, but the aforementioned part, featuring some striking essays by figures such as Fred Botting, David Colling and Anna Powell, successfully propels the Gothic discourse further than the twentieth-century analytical perspective. The breadth of Gothic texts discussed in the essays under Part V is also impressive; There is in-depth analysis of Walpole, Lewis and Radcliffe, nineteenth-century and Fin de siècle Gothic from Frankenstein to Dracula, weird fiction and Lovecraft, object-oriented-ontology, and finally Derrida, moving from a focus on language as the process of death in signs toward the "qualified messianism" of the specter as a ubiquitous "nostalgic waiting for a redemption". I particularly enjoyed chapter 14, in which Anna Powell explores the affinity of Deleuze’s theoretical work and Lovecraftian horror through their usage of affect.
      The book concludes with David Punter, reflecting on where the Gothic-and-theory conversation has gone and where it might go in the years to come; as the liminal aesthetic of Gothic seldom posits an argument for or against anything, but calls for opening up of new possibilities. To that end, I think this book has been successful in compelling the reader to engage more daringly with Gothic and theory. It certainly was far more heavy (and jargon-laden) compared to other companion books on the subject of Gothic. I’d argue that it is almost necessary for the reader to be already familiar with the literary theories employed in this book, as the book does not contain a comprehensive introduction or refresher to them. Nevertheless, it was a rewarding if challenging read, and an indispensable achievement for Gothic scholarship.

The Gothic and Theory An Edinburgh Companion

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