In gothic writing, fear and pain are sources of pleasure. Discuss

Fear and pain are arguably attributes of both reality and fiction, most popularly topics within the gothic which explores the more ominous realms of literature. Pleasure can be argued as the feeling of excitement, of unrestrained enjoyment which may at first seem an opposite to fear and pain however in a genre that often blurs and transgresses boundaries, fear, pain and pleasure bode a striking resemblance. It could be argued the gothic evokes fear amongst its readers as it explores death, the liminal and the supernatural, however this is often the source of pleasure as it provides an exhilarating escape into an unknown world, a world without boundaries. Readers can perhaps indulge in sordid behaviour and sexual deviancy vicariously through characters, creating a pleasurable and fearful experience. Whilst fear may equate terror which could be argued as tantalising and exhilarating, it could be argued pain is perhaps a less recognised source of pleasure. However, through sadomasochism explored in the Bloody Chamber and forms of torture many characters gain pleasure from either their own or others pain. In a sinister way, the gothic perhaps explores the sadistic pleasure gained from inflicting pain. In the natural world, predators often gain pleasure from toying with their prey, similarly in the gothic, gothic villains relish in the pain of their victims. It could be argued whilst physical pain may be a source of pleasure, emotional pain rarely provides any form of pleasure for those who experience it perhaps suggesting on a more literal level, fear and pain can be exciting and pleasurable whilst hidden forms of emotional pain are far from any source of pleasure.

Carter’s Bloody Chamber could be argued to be preoccupied and fascinated by fear and pain as a source of pleasure, with obvious parallels to the Marquis de Sade, pornographic images and violent language it seems to highlight that “there is a striking resemblance between the act of love and the ministrations of a torturer”. Carter explores sadomasochism through her archetypal characters of the virginal woman “I was seventeen and knew nothing of the world” and the dominant aristocratic male “he was rich as Croesus”. The sexual experience is arguably one of pain for the woman and pleasure for the dominant male as the violent verbs used highlight the physical pain she endures “a dozen husbands impaled a dozen brides” at the expense of his pleasure “shriek and blaspheme at the orgasm”. This could suggest the arguably sadistic Marquis gains pleasure from the pain and impalement of his bride, perhaps reinforcing that pain is not necessarily a source of pleasure for those who experience it but for those who inflict it. It could be argued the use of “a dozen brides” could suggest this is a universal experience and one of commonality for females in a patriarchal society, whilst the sadomasochism explored in the Bloody Chamber adds to the gothic genre and exhibits a taboo subject it also provides a profound feminist message that women’s pain, whether by rape or by oppression is a source of pleasure for men.

Within the Erl-King, pain and pleasure could be argued to be linked as the narrator suggests “he devastates and consoles me”, the Erl-King perhaps provides both pain or “grevious harm” and pleasure or comfort. He is a character who inflicts pain and pleasure “you sink your teeth into my throat and make me scream”. It could be argued Carter uses an innuendo here to perhaps highlight that pain is a source of sexual pleasure for females, in contrast to the Bloody Chamber in which sex seems purely pleasurable for the male, perhaps pain is a source of pleasure for those upon whom it is inflicted. It could be argued pleasure is in fact a source of fear, as fear is evoked from the thought of losing the pleasure and love the homodiegetic narrator feels for this mythological forest goblin. She states she is not afraid of him but “only, afraid of vertigo, of the vertigo with which he seizes me. Afraid of falling down.” Which could suggest she is afraid of being discarded, being replaced and falling from his esteem as his lover. She experiences metaphorical vertigo perhaps due to being held so high in his regard and the constant worry and fear of being let go and losing the pleasure she gains from being in such a privileged position. It is perhaps human nature to want to hold on to happiness and pleasure, similarly to Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover, the narrator in an attempt to preserve this state of pleasure and eradicate the fear of loss murders the Erl-King with his own hair “I shall take two huge handfuls of his rustling hair…I shall strangle him with them”. Perhaps with pleasure or enjoyment comes the fear of losing such as in an unpredictable genre such as the gothic pleasure may be taken away at any point.

Bronte’s Wuthering Heights set amongst a backdrop of the hostile Yorkshire moors presents characters who’s pleasure is sought from other characters misery and fear. Heathcliff experiences, in childhood, maltreatment and a plethora of abuse from his adoptive family, which could be seen as a catalyst for his later revenge and “violent” character. In a revenge plot against his abusers it could be argued Heathcliff gains pleasure from the pain and fear he inflicts upon his former abusers and the next generation of characters. Heathcliff causes emotional pain for Hareton who is arguably innocent “a cherub”, he is denied education and Heathcliff deliberately tries to lower his status “Now my bonny lad you are mine! And we’ll see if one tree won’t grow as crooked as another with the same wind to twist it”. The use of “twist” suggests Heathcliff’s manipulation of Hareton’s status suggesting the cruel nature of Heathcliff, whilst the enthusiasm in his tone highlighted through the use of an exclamation mark could suggest Heathcliff gains pleasure and relishes in the task of stunting Hareton’s development. However, whilst Heathcliff unequivocally gains some form of pleasure from inflicting emotional pain on Hareton who is later taunted by Cathy for being illiterate, it could be argued despite Heathcliff inflicting physical pain upon Hindley “the ruffian kicked and trampled on him and dashed his head repeatedly” he doesn’t perhaps gain pleasure from this form of pain. This outburst of violence could be argued as just that, an outburst in retaliation to years of scornful abuse, rather than a deliberate attempt to hurt Hindley for his own pleasure as rather than murder Hindley in this opportune moment, Heathcliff leaves him to recover. It could be argued pain as a source of pleasure connotes a sadistic enjoyment, which is perhaps not suitable for this situation as Heathcliff may gain momentary enjoyment from inflicting pain he does not bask in it, it is perhaps not a source of pleasure but somewhat justified satisfaction.

Whilst many gothic texts provide evidence of pain as a source of pleasure it could be argued emotional pain in Wuthering Heights is completely devoid of pleasure. Emotional pain could be seen as a source of distress and insanity, such as Heathcliff experiences emotional pain when Catherine dies “would you like to live with your soul in the grave” “howled like a savage beast” this pain is not a source of pleasure in the slightest but rather causes extreme behaviour, extreme distress and Heathcliff to digress to animalistic tendencies. It could be argued Catherine experiences emotional pain when she is torn between two lovers “my love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods; time will change it…my love for Heathcliff is like the eternal rocks beneath”. This dilemma is a source of emotional pain yet does not entail pleasure for Catherine nor Heathcliff and Edgar, suggesting whilst physical pain may be a source of pleasure as in the Bloody Chamber, emotional pain is a source of the opposite of pleasure –misery. In gothic writing, pleasure gained may be reliant upon the type of pain inflicted as emotional or psychological pain may not be a source of pleasure despite there being a somewhat fine line between physical pain in sadomasochistic practices or linked with sexuality and pleasure.

It could be argued fear is perhaps a driving force for action in Macbeth rather than a source of pleasure. Macbeth could be disputed as a play which exhibits very little pleasure at all as it is arguably preoccupied with the devastating consequences of murder and parasitic guilt. Macbeth could be seen as a highly impressionable character, propelled into regicide by Lady Macbeth who could be seen as persuasive “pour my spirits in thine ear” and the Witches equivocations. It could be argued Macbeth is fearful of being seen as “ a coward in thine own esteem” and fearful of the supernatural powers of the Witches, this fear could be argued as not a source of pleasure but rather a catalyst for the rising murder count as the play progresses. Macbeth is arguably also fearful of being overthrown “to be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus” which causes him much paranoia and to arrange Banquo’s murder, suggesting fear within Macbeth is a source of insecurity and perhaps pleasure can only be gained once the fear has been eradicated “Who wear our health but sickly in his life, which in his death were perfect”. It could be argued Shakespeare portrays pleasure as living without guilt or threat suggesting that as guilt and threat, two key components of the gothic, could be argued as linked with fear, fear can perhaps not be a source of pleasure.

Lady Macbeth could be argued as a fearful character as she rejects expected roles of the female as a mother “take my milk for gall” and has powerful manipulative qualities “look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t”. For original Jacobean audiences, who were primarily Christian, Shakespeare’s portrayal of Lady Macbeth could be argued as a source of fear as she poses a threat to the normal values and expectations of women. Jacobean society would have been predominantly patriarchal and such an empowered and dominant female character may have been seen as disconcerting as she may have tempted female audience members to adopt a stronger stance or perhaps as Shakespeare proposed a woman who was perhaps unnatural or lacking in “the milk o’ human kindness”. Whilst writing with gothic elements portrays fear from characters it could be argued it is a genre uniquely able to conjure fear from its audiences, as it explores the unnatural, supernatural and taboos. This form of fear from audiences at the unexpected and unpredictable Lady Macbeth could be argued as not a source of pleasure but source of worry for Jacobean audiences as she poses a threat to the idea of a woman.

Gothic literature is perhaps not the only genre to explore fear and pain but perhaps the only one in which these are core to its writing. Many gothic features such as murder, subterranean passages, rape and power all hold elements of both fear and pain suggesting they are integral to gothic writing. The fear experienced by gothic audiences may be a source of exhilarating thrill or perhaps of worry and anger but nevertheless provocative. Pain may be a source of pleasure for both the administrator and the recipient especially when it is linked with sexuality or sadomasochism, however emotional pain may be a form of pain from which no pleasure can be drawn. The gothic highlights the fine line between pleasure, fear and pain which may have been seen as a distinct dichotomy before the exploratory and subversive genre of the gothic.