Gothic Utterance: Voice, Speech and Death in the American Gothic

The Gothic has always been interested in strange utterances and unsettling voices, such as the cries of the monstrous nonhuman. Gothic Utterance explores the role of these voices in American literature between the Revolutionary War and the close of the nineteenth century, arguing that they foreground the overpowering affect and distressing significations of the voices of the dead, dying, abjected, marginalized, or nonhuman. It also emphasizes the ethical demands attending our encounters with Gothic voices, suggesting that how we choose to hear and respond to these voices says much about our relationship with the world and its inhabitants.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2021
Publisher: University of Wales Press

The Gothic has always been captivated by enigmatic utterances and unsettling voices, ranging from half-heard ghostly murmurs to the dire warnings of the deceased. In Gothic Utterance, the first comprehensive exploration of its significance in American literature between the Revolutionary War and the end of the nineteenth century, the author delves into the profound role these voices play within the Gothic tradition. This book argues that the American Gothic forefronts the overwhelming emotional impact and distressing meanings associated with the voices of the dead, dying, abject, marginalized, or nonhuman, thereby engaging in a sustained interrogation of what it means to be and speak as an American during this period.

The American Gothic imagines novel forms of intersubjectivity, positing more inclusive and expansive communities. Moreover, Gothic Utterance underscores the ethical implications of our encounters with Gothic voices, emphasizing that our choices regarding how we listen and respond to these voices reveal much about our relationship with the world around us, its inhabitants, whether they be deceased or alive, and the boundaries of our own subjectivity and empathy.

Weight: 368g
Dimension: 144 x 221 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781786837547