The phrase “the natural order of things” has a multitude of
connotations, from the journey from life to death, Darwin’s natural
selection to gender boundaries. Natural
order could be interpreted as primarily natures processes with death as not
only inevitable but definitive and the strong superior to the weak however it
could also be argued the natural order of things is a term we associate with
society. The natural order to some may
suggest a patriarchal society where marriage and male dominance are simply the
natural rule. The meaning of the natural order is therefore subjective and as a
result open to subversion; a Gothic preoccupation. Gothic literature is
renowned for transgression, taboos and continues to challenge preconceived
ideas of what is acceptable , it is perhaps therefore no surprise that Gothic
literature resides outside any concept of the natural order of things and seeks
to disrupt this order to not only demonstrate its consequences but explore
alternatives to the natural order.
Through a culturally constructed lens, the natural order of
things may be, as aforementioned, male supremacy and patriarchy. In Carter’s
short stories, this natural order is disrupted and subverted through the
empowerment of her female protagonists. Structurally, Carter first presents a
female protagonist who is susceptible to male attention and falls prey to a
predatory Marquis, an archetypal Gothic villain, seeming to follow the natural
order of females as inferior and vulnerable as she is the “lamb”. This could perhaps
highlight from a Feminist perspective, that the Gothic may demonstrate
consequences, such as vulnerability, of staying
within the natural order of patriarchy. However, at the end of the story, it is
not the stereotypical male hero who saves Carter’s character but her piston
wielding Mother, a female who has “shot a man-eating tiger” and is perhaps the
epitome of a powerful woman. Carter’s decision to have her final hero as a
female could be argued as an intentional disruption of the natural order of things;
she presents a Mother figure who is far from a preconceived idea from the 70’s
such as a housewife to perhaps demonstrate the beneficial consequences of
straying from the natural order. By disrupting the natural order of patriarchy
through her empowered heroin, she suggests the consequence for challenging a
perhaps archaic societal structure is freedom. Whilst “consequence” and
“disrupt” may be interpreted as negative language, suggesting Gothic literature
only demonstrates the downfalls that come with challenging the natural order of
things, Carter perhaps portrays modernising and disrupting the rigid
patriarchal system as liberating, reflecting a genre that embraces concepts
outside the natural order of things.
“Order” could suggest a clear distinction, perhaps with
regards to Carters stories, the distinction between man (and woman) and beast. The
natural order of things may be the superiority of the cultivated and civilised
human in contrast to the wild animals of the natural world. However Carter’s
emphasis on beasts may not be just a Gothic feature to evoke terror, but a tool
to disrupt this natural order of things to demonstrate the consequential
restraints of the human world and freedom of the animal kingdom. In the Tigers
Bride, Carter’s female protagonist metamorphosis at the end of the story into a
beast, choosing to leave the human world where she is an object or “treasure”
to be sold and join the world of beasts. The consequences of transgressing the
threshold from human to beast are perhaps freedom from a gender constrained
society, with each “successive skin” that is stripped off she is perhaps
shedding her socially constructed preconceptions that have been layered upon
layered from years of socialisation. Despite disrupting the natural order of
this opposition of human and beast, it could be argued Carter actually restores
the natural order of things as she strips away culturally added ideas of women
as objects and men as superior, returning to perhaps the way nature intended.
By becoming a beast or a Tiger, the female has reverted back to a state without
patriarchy or class segregation perhaps going back to nature where these
culturally imposed ideas do not exist. Carter may be suggesting that the
natural order of things is just that, natural, like the natural world with
freedom and perhaps even ignorance. Whilst Carter has disrupted the natural
order of a society by blurring this boundary through her Gothic genre she has
perhaps demonstrated the consequence is restoration back to the true natural
order of things as nature intended.
The Gothic’s preoccupation with the supernatural could be
argued as a disruption of the natural order of things, as the supernatural
means being above nature usually relating to ghosts. If the definition of the natural
order of things is taken to be that of the process from birth to death, then
death would be a final stage. However, the supernatural goes beyond death for
example an afterlife, ghosts within Macbeth and Wuthering Heights are from
beyond the grave and beyond the point at which the natural order of life ends.
This disruption of the natural order could be argued as the most consequential
in Macbeth, Banquo’s ghost can be argued as a manifestation of Macbeth’s guilt
or as a warning of his subsequent insanity, nevertheless the ghost is a
supernatural aspect to the play disrupting the natural order of life and death.
The consequences of this disruption are portrayed as internal, Macbeth is
ridden with mental turmoil and sheer fear at the sight of the ghost suggesting
to disrupt the natural order has devastating effect rather than one of
liberation as in Carter’s. However, whilst the supernatural may not be
interpreted as the natural order if death is seen as definitive, for Jacobean,
Christian audiences an afterlife is believed as natural. Perhaps for a modern
secular audience this boundary between life and death is blurred by Banquo’s
ghost and far from the natural order, yet for a Jacobean audience this Gothic
element is not disrupting the natural order but merely following beliefs. This
could suggest that the insanity and torment are not consequences of disrupting
the natural order in terms of life and death but perhaps act as consequence for
disrupting the natural order of hierarchy in a feudal society. Macbeth’s
regicide may have been seen as the ultimate disruption of the natural order of
things within a Christian society and therefore the consequence is overwhelming
guilt to pay the price of sinning.
The supernatural is a Gothic element present within Wuthering
Heights however conversely to Macbeth, the consequences are perhaps not
detrimental. Catherine’s ghost evokes fear within Lockwood, a middle class man
who could be argued as very much within the natural order of society, perhaps
as the supernatural is beyond the natural order of things, however for
Heathcliff, Catherine’s ghost provides hope. Heathcliff can be argued as a
direct opposition to Lockwood, whilst Lockwood is civilised, Heathcliff is wild
and uncultivated, this suggests that Heathcliff is outside the natural order of
things which could be highlighted by the use of the pronoun “it” to describe
him in the beginning of the novel. Perhaps for those characters within the
class system and the natural order of things such as Lockwood or Edgar, anything
that may disrupt or challenge this order such as the supernatural ghost has
consequences of fear however for those already residing outside the natural
order such as Heathcliff, the consequences are perhaps welcomed. The consequence
of Catherine’s ghost, to Heathcliff, could be argued is hope, as he sees a
chance for their reunion and the “eternal” nature of their love, beyond the
temporary natural order of life and death. This could suggest the Gothic
demonstrates the consequences of disrupting the natural order of things are
different depending on characters position within this order.
In a more secular modern society, the science of evolution
may be a more favoured explanation than that of the creation theory. Therefore
the natural order of things may denote Darwin’s natural selection theory, the
strong survive whilst the weak perish. The theme of illness or weakness is
prevalent in Wuthering Heights, despite the passionate nature of Heathcliff and
Catherine’s love and the violence of Hindley, many characters death is caused
by weakness rather than murder. Linton is an effeminate, weak and sickly child whose
death is seen as inevitable which could suggest that Wuthering Heights with
regards to natural selection does not disrupt the natural order of things but
rather follows it. However, it could be argued Catherine, a fiery and “wild”
child who may represent the stronger species in terms of Darwins theory, also
dies from a sickly illness which could suggest her death disrupts the natural
order of natural selection. The consequence of her death is perhaps
Heathcliff’s want for revenge and bitterness, after Catherine’s death
Heathcliff becomes a more sinister character inflicting misery and entrapment
on other characters perhaps suggesting by disrupting the natural order of
things with Catherine’s death the consequences will trickle down to all
characters suggesting that the natural order of things is a powerful system not
to be disrupted.
The natural order of things is an ambiguous phrase, it can
be interpreted in many different ways altered by religious background, time
period and personal beliefs. Gothic literature, by transgressing boundaries and
challenging taboos allows for much disruption of the natural order of things
whether it be patriarchy, the supernatural or natural selection. Whilst
disruption of the natural order may cause negative consequences such as
Macbeth’s mental turmoil or undermining patriarchy, it can also cause
beneficial consequences as the natural order of things may not necessarily be
the right order of things and perhaps change can bring good consequences.
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