The first gothic novel The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, published in 1764, substantially contained all the paramount elements of the gothic genre. Supernatural, old castles, omens, prophecies, frantic emotions, the air of mystery and suspense, patriarchy and a woman in distress form the basic but essential foundation to this genre. From The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole to “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe to several contemporary works in the gothic genre, we see how the nature of the gothic and the way it is presented to its audience has changed. However, exploitation of the woman is the constant element in this dynamic world of the gothic and its literature. Rosemary’s Baby was published in 1967 by Ira Levin.
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In Rosemary’s Baby, there is a denial of Rosemary’s identity as an individual human and a wife. Also, this is a repetition from the real world as for centuries a woman wasn’t entitled to anything, not even her body; as it was considered an asset which would be handed to her husband after their wedding. Massé highlights this issue of identity crisis for a woman by showing a snippet from Charles Brown’s “Memoirs of Carvin the Biloquist”, “The attachment and obedience of this being will be chiefly evident in one thing” (Massé 692). The words “this being” here refer to a wife. This shows how a wife after marriage is not treated as a significant other or an equal partner but only as a living body. Further, Massé continues by showing Charles Brown’s text from “Memoirs of Carvin the Biloquist”, “Your slave is a woman; and the bond, which transfers her property and person to you, is... marriage” (Massé 692). By providing this text to the readers, Massé is emphasizing on how marriage and position of a wife is a trap laid out for women to lure them into a world of sufferings which gives birth to identity crisis in their lives and finally the gothic in
In Rosemary’s Baby, there is a denial of Rosemary’s identity as an individual human and a wife. Also, this is a repetition from the real world as for centuries a woman wasn’t entitled to anything, not even her body; as it was considered an asset which would be handed to her husband after their wedding. Massé highlights this issue of identity crisis for a woman by showing a snippet from Charles Brown’s “Memoirs of Carvin the Biloquist”, “The attachment and obedience of this being will be chiefly evident in one thing” (Massé 692). The words “this being” here refer to a wife. This shows how a wife after marriage is not treated as a significant other or an equal partner but only as a living body. Further, Massé continues by showing Charles Brown’s text from “Memoirs of Carvin the Biloquist”, “Your slave is a woman; and the bond, which transfers her property and person to you, is... marriage” (Massé 692). By providing this text to the readers, Massé is emphasizing on how marriage and position of a wife is a trap laid out for women to lure them into a world of sufferings which gives birth to identity crisis in their lives and finally the gothic in