Dark spaces, horrifying places: Gothic mode in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Latin American fiction

In recent years, Gothic literature has become the subject of increased scholarly interest, including criticism of European, North American, and contemporary Latin American works. The focus of the current project, however, is the neglected Gothic literature of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Latin America. First, I review of the development of Gothic literature in England and its popularity in nineteenth-century Europe and North America; furthermore, there is discussion of early and contemporary Gothic theory, Thomas Meade Harwell's inventory of Gothic parts, as well as the distinctions between the Fantastic and the Gothic, and Gothic genre and mode. The major focus, though, is an in-depth study of the presence and purpose of the Gothic mode in selected short works by Juana Manuela Gorriti, Julio Calcano, Luis Lopez Mendez, and Baldomero Lillo, as well as in Federico Gamboa's novel Santa. The Romantic and Naturalist Gothic are analyzed separately in order to illustrate how these authors' artistic, historical, or political concerns are expressed using various elements of the Gothic mode.; The Gothic mode is shown to be far-reaching and flexible, and allows authors from varying times and places to explore their cultures' dark or barbaric tendencies using a literature of nightmare. In the case of the works studied here, the authors speak to some of the most morbid and horrifying aspects of individuals' existence, such as the results of European obsession with gold, terrifyingly violent dictatorships, and economic exploitation. In Romantic and Naturalist Gothic works, these authors utilize natural and supernatural characters, nightmarish physical and psychological settings, and stories of human evil and malevolence that deeply affect both the innocent characters and the reader. It is therefore shown that nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Latin American literature does indeed participate in the Gothic mode, and the result is a deeper understanding of this region and its importance in the Gothic tradition.