Pagan Revenants in Arthur Machen’s Supernatural Tales of the Nineties
In his Geography of Victorian Gothic Fiction (1999), Robert Mighall presents ‘anachronistic conflict’ as the defining feature of the mode. The resurgence of pagan gods and the discovery of a fossil race are the two main triggers of such a conflict in Arthur Machen’s supernatural tales of the Ninetie...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2014-09-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/1466 |
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| Summary: | In his Geography of Victorian Gothic Fiction (1999), Robert Mighall presents ‘anachronistic conflict’ as the defining feature of the mode. The resurgence of pagan gods and the discovery of a fossil race are the two main triggers of such a conflict in Arthur Machen’s supernatural tales of the Nineties. The aim of this paper is to explore how the horrifying returns articulate with the Anglo-Catholic writer’s sacramental worldview, focusing in particular on the use of the wine symbol in his texts. The Dionysian theme reverberates throughout Machen’s fiction, where the double-natured god may induce either debasement or elevation. In both cases, sacramental wine enables man to partake in the reality that lies beyond the veil of appearances. |
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| ISSN: | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |