Gothic Stories Within Stories : Frame Narratives and Realism in the Genre, 1790-1900

Frame narratives-stories within stories-are featured in nearly every canonical Gothic novel. Sometimes dismissed as a shopworn convention of the genre, frame narratives in fact function as a dynamic basis for imaginative variation and are vital to evaluating the diverse Gothic tradition. The juxtaposition between the everyday ""frame world"" of the story and the disturbing embedded narrative allows the monstrous to escape textual confines, forcing the reader to experience the reassurance of the ordinary alongside the horror of the uncanny. Frame Narratives--stories Within Stories--are Featured In Nearly Every Canonical Gothic Novel. The Juxtaposition Between The Everyday Frame World Of The Story And The Disturbing Embedded Narrative Allows The Monstrous To Escape Textual Confines, Forcing The Reader To Experience The Reassurance Of The Ordinary Alongside The Horror Of The Uncanny-- A Frame Of Uncommon Size: Ann Radcliffe And The Sublime Real -- Go Forth And Prosper: Mary Shelley's Monsters Unbound -- Loose Ends: Melmoth The Wanderer And Confessions Of A Justified Sinner -- Interlude. The Fabric Of Reality: Sartor Resartus -- The Science Of Human Brutality: Wuthering Heights And The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall -- The Romantic Side Of Familiar Things: The Old Curiosity Shop And Bleak House -- The Descent Of Man: Jekyll And Hyde And Dracula -- Coda. Glory In A Gap: The Turn Of The Screw And Heart Of Darkness. Clayton Carlyle Tarr. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Table of Contents Introduction 1. A “frame of uncommon size”: Ann Radcliffe and the Sublime Real 2. Go Forth and Prosper: Mary Shelley’s Monsters Unbound 3. Loose Ends: Melmoth the Wanderer and Confessions of a Justified Sinner Interlude. The Fabric of Reality: Sartor Resartus 4. The “science of human brutality”: Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall 5. The “romantic side of familiar things”: The Old Curiosity Shop and Bleak House 6. The Descent of Man: Jekyll and Hyde and Dracula Coda. Glory in a Gap: The Turn of the Screw and Heart of Darkness Chapter Notes Bibliography Index "Frame narratives--stories within stories--are featured in nearly every canonical Gothic novel. The juxtaposition between the everyday "frame world" of the story and the disturbing embedded narrative allows the monstrous to escape textual confines, forcing the reader to experience the reassurance of the ordinary alongside the horror of the uncanny"-- Provided by publisher