The Gothic Fiction of Adelaida Garcia Morales: Haunting Words

The Gothic as a literary mode extending well beyond its first proponents in eighteenth-century England is well established in English studies but has been strangely under-used by Hispanists. Now Abigail Lee Six uses it as the paradigm through which to analyse the novels of Adelaida Garc a Morales; while not suggesting that every novel by this author is a classic Gothic text, she reveals certain constants in the work that can be related to the Gothic, even in novels which one might not classify as such. Each of the novels studied is paired with an English-language Gothic text, such as Dracula, Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and then read in the light of it. The focus of each chapter ranges from psychological aspects, such as fear of decay or otherness, or the pressures linked to managing secrets, to more concrete elements such as mountains and frightening buildings, and to key figures such as vampires, ghosts, or monsters. This approach sheds new light on how Garc a Morales achieves probably the most distinguishing feature of her novels: their harrowing atmosphere. ABIGAIL LEE SIX is Professor of Hispanic Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London.