American Gothicism in Brown’s Wieland or Transformation And Hawthorne’s The House of Seven Gables

Abstract

Abstract This paper looks into the ways two Nineteen century American Writers, Charles Brockden Brown and Nathanial Hawthorne tried to appropriate the European gothic traditions and come up with new elements of horror specific to the American Experience. The study surveys the characteristics of transatlantic gothic, and then, tries to demarcate American gothic traditions in terms of settings, characters, and style. For demonstration, the paper attempts to show how both Charles Broken Brown in Wieland or Transformation and Hawthorne in The House of Seven Gables tried to come up with gothic traditions peculiar to the American experience. The study shows how the two novelists created a sense of horror, mystery, and uncertainty in a way departs from the European gothic traditions. Key words: Gothic Literature American gothic traditions, Charles Broken Brown Nathanial Hawthorne New sources of horror