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"Gothic tales seem to satisfy a deep seated fascination with
the limits of human experience" Do you agree with this
statement?
It can be said that within Gothic tales, a deep seated fascination
with the limits of human experience is satisfied, as the protagonists
within Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, and
Shakespeare’s Macbeth, are all overreachers who attempt to break
the boundaries of what is considered socially acceptable. However,
this being said, ultimately the protagonists must return to what is
expected of them in order for order to be restored within society.
This can be seen as Faustus is damned, Macbeth killed, and the
female protagonist in The Bloody Chamber returns to being cared
for by her mother.
Within Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a fascination with the limits of
human experience can be seen to an extent, as Macbeth, the gothic
protagonist, exhibits a fascination with the supernatural,
predominantly the Witches. This can be seen as he demands “stay,
you imperfect speakers, tell me more” showing his intense
fascination with the witches and what they have to say. The fact that
the witches are described as “imperfect” further emphasises their
supernatural nature as they are presented as existing beyond social
norms. This is furthered when Banquo states “you should be women
and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so” thus
showing the blurring of boundaries between genders, emphasising
the abnormal nature of the witches. Contextually this would be
beyond the limits of human experience, as Witches in the Jacobean
era were feared due to existing beyond the societal norms. This is
supported by Gurr who states “displays of devilry at work were
capable of provoking reactions of mass hysteria in both audience
and actors”.
Another way, in which the fascination with the limits of human
experience is explored within Macbeth, is through the debate of
whether or not Macbeth should commit regicide. The notion of
committing regicide can be seen as beyond the limits of human
experience, as to commit regicide, is to overreach and break the
great chain of being. The great chain of being is a Renaissance
concept, which denotes that every being has their place in the
chain. If one were to rise above their station, chaos would ensue
that could only be ceased if order were to be restored. Committing
regicide would entail overreaching and rising above one’s station, as
the reigning monarch was considered to be god’s representative on
earth. This is supported by King James I who stated, “the monarchy
is the supremest thing on earth”. Furthermore, contextually, the
notion of regicide would fascinate and resonate with the Jacobean
audience as the gun powder plot would have recently occurred in
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which several Catholics plotted to murder the King. Macbeth’s
contemplation of whether or not to commit regicide can be seen
within his first soliloquy in which he states “if the assassination
could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease
success” he would commit the murder. He then goes on to say, “as
his host, who should against his murderer shut the door not bear the
knife myself” showing Macbeth’s careful consideration of regicide.
The fact that Macbeth thinks it through logically shows his deep
seated fascination with the limits of human experience, this limit
being regicide and breaking the great chain of being.
It is however arguable, that the fascination with the limits of human
experience that is explored within Macbeth, is primarily the notion of
the limits of moral consciousness as opposed to the limit of physical
brutality and murder. This can be seen as at the beginning of the
play, Macbeth commits murders during battle, which are described
as “brave” and “valiant” acts. This can be seen within the Captain’s
speech in which he described Macbeth as “Bellona’s Bridegroom” as
a result of these murders in which Shakespeare has utilised a
reference to Roman mythology, likening Macbeth to the Roman god
of war, Mars, as Bellona was Mars’ wife. Macbeth is not persecuted
for these murders as due to them being ordered by the King, they
are deemed as morally sound. However, once Macbeth commits
regicide and breaks the great chain of being, his murders are soon
deemed to be beyond the limits of human experience. This can be
seen when Macbeth condemns innocence to death evident in “give
to th edge o’the sword, his wife, his babes”. The notion of Macbeth
being limited by morality can be seen in the troubled nature of his
mind once he commits regicide. This is evident as he states “O full
of scorpions is my mind, dear wife” in which Shakespeare has
utilised imagery of a poisonous insect in order to depict the troubled
nature of Macbeth’s mind. Macbeth’s troubled mind can also be
seen through his inability to sleep and his inability to say amen. This
shows that human experience is limited as due to Macbeth going
beyond the limits of human experience, he is now damned.
The notion of damnation due to going beyond the limits of human
experience, can not only be seen with Macbeth, but also with Lady
Macbeth. The character of Lady Macbeth can be seen as pushing the
boundaries of her gender role in order to facilitate Macbeth
committing regicide. Lady Macbeth calls on evil spirits to “unsex me
here” showing her rejection of her gender role. Lady Macbeth seems
to go against the typical patriarchal society as patriarchy, as
explained by Weedon, “refers to power relations in which women’s
interests are subordinated to the interests of men” however Lady
Macbeth chastises and manipulates Macbeth into committing
regicide. This is evident as Lady Macbeth states “when you durst do
it then you were a man”, thus threatening Macbeth’s manhood. She
further emasculates Macbeth by questioning, “was the hope drunk
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wherein you dress’d yourself” in which Shakespeare utilises clothing
imagery to depict Lady Macbeth’s manipulation. However, as Lady
Macbeth goes beyond the socially acceptable and beyond the limits
of human experience, she is accordingly damned as she cannot live
with what she is done, and kills herself. Her guilt can be seen once
the great chain of being is broken, through the symbol of blood as
Lady Macbeth continually hallucinates blood on her hand which she
attempts to wash off “out damned spot, out I say, out!” The fact that
the spot is described as ‘damned’ parallels the fact that Lady
Macbeth is damned, in addition to arguably being an allusion to the
mark of the devil.
Within Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, Faustus reaching the boundary of
knowledge defines the limits of human experience. Faustus is
described as being “swollen with cunning” showing that he has
reached the limits of academic knowledge, and as a result wishes to
break the limits of human experience, by “practice[ing] more than
heavenly power permits”. Faustus’ desire to go beyond what is
acceptable would entail him rejecting god and breaking the great
chain of being. Critic Palmer who states “Doctor Faustus deals
directly with the will of god and the hero’s attempts to defy it”
supports this. In the context of the renaissance, it was believed that
rejecting god would mean being in despair, which is defined as a
person living in the absence of god. Critic Palmer states “Faustus
brings about his own tragedy…a tragedy of despair” showing that
his rejection of god results in his own despair. The fact that Faustus
experiences despair highlights the existence of the limitation of
human experiences. This is furthered by the fact that Doctor Faustus
can be seen as a subversion of the medieval morality plot. This is
supported by critic Craik who states “the typical morality plot has
hitherto been one of temptation, sin and repentance; from the
middle of the 16th Century we find plays in which the unrepentant
evildoer is overtaken in his wickedness and damned”. The setting of
his study reflects Faustus’ thirst for knowledge, and by extension,
his gothic ambition as an overreacher, as it shows his interests to be
centred on academic learning something that during the
renaissance, was considered to be pushing the limits of human
experience, particularly the notions of astrology. This is supported
by critic Tilyard who states “at the time when Christianity was young
and growing there was a general terror of the stars and a wide
practice of astrology” thus showing Faustus to be a gothic
overreacher, exploring the limits of human experience. Contextually,
the story of Doctor Faustus is believed to be based upon the
renaissance alchemist, John Dee, who also pursued the dark arts,
showing a fascination with the limits of human experience.
The notion of the limits of human experience can be seen in the
theatrical representation of Faustus’ doppelganger, as they show his
consideration of the limits of humanity. The fact that the theatrical
