The Double and the Uncanny in "The Great God Pan"

Abstract

Since its first publication in 1894, The Great God Pan has been considered a masterpiece of gothic literature, and its author, Arthur Machen, widely accepted as a foundational figure in the development of modern horror fiction. Born in Caerleon-on-Usk, in Monmouthshire, Machen spent his childhood and adolescence surrounded by astonishing landscapes, to which he claims to owe “anything which I may have accomplished in literature” . His stories, however, not only are permeated by images of the Welsh valleys and forests. Another place figures prominently, namely the city of London, or the “City of Resurrections” – as he calls it in The Great God Pan – which he discovered when he was 18, as he was sent there by his family in order to become a journalist. The first chapter of this dissertation will analyse the way in which Machen’s novella, while revealing archaic history as a lively presence in Wales, additionally provides a fascinating window into the fin-de-siècle cultural milieu. In the same chapter a summary of The Great God Pan will be provided. Machen’s novella situates in 19th century literary tradition of the Gothic and Decadent movement. This tradition started in late 18th century as a subgenre of fantastic literature when a fashion for gothic architectures and medieval settings sparked an interest for gothic stories as well. Permeated by symbols of arbitrary power and patriarchal oppression, gothic tales were populated by damsels in distress and scenes of passion. From the middle of the 19th century, a turn occurred in Gothic literary taste. Terror, which formerly dwelt in dark dungeons and supernatural occurrences, came to be set in the human mind. The Gothic remains nowadays a popular genre, allowing readers to undergo a cathartic experience, giving way to negative and repressed emotions in the safe environment of an aesthetic work of fiction. After tracing a history of Gothic literature, this chapter will linger on two particular features of this specific kind of literature, namely the Double and the Uncanny. Technological advancements and positivism, while changing 19th century Britain’s way of living, also paved the way to a new conception and understanding of the human individual. A new self-awareness for what their role in society was concerned lead women to the organization of the first movements to gain the right to vote and to challenging the strict codes in which they had been confined during the previous centuries. Such codes encompassed normative definitions of gender roles, among which was included the generally established stereotype of the virtuous woman. Propagated by much Victorian literature and resumed by 1854 poem entitled “The angel in the house” written by Coventry Patmore, the ideal of the proper Victorian woman was that of a patient, sacrificing, self-abnegating wife. To accomplish their duties and never deviate from their prescribed roles of nurturing mothers and supporting wives, ladies were expected to never display any kind of passionate and impetuous behaviour, and they were considered asexual beings, unsusceptible to carnal desire. Machen’s The Great God Pan arguably provides an alternative vision of female sexuality and portrays the struggle women not adhering to normative standards of behaviour had to face in the second half of 19th century. The third chapter will support this interpretation through an analysis of the relationship between the two women in the tale, Mary and Helen, and their male counterparts, namely the gentlemen of Victorian London.