The
principal gothic tropes in the “Ruins…” include angry, powerful, and
manipulative men. This trope manifests itself in the Knight, and the
Baron/Vortimer. The Baron is only using Anna to regain the abbey. The current
owner of the abbey finds it in ruin, and is forced inside its mysterious
interior by stormy weather. Rosaline encounters a supernatural voice, and
figurines of death in Anna’s tomb. Anna is imprisoned in this tomb by corrupt
church figures, who have been manipulated by the Baron.
The
solutions that the author offers are not very hopeful. The women in the story
have no way of escaping from these problems in life. The only way out is to
die. Even if you run away, you either must return, or you will be tracked down.
In death you are free from these problems, and in death you are able to exact
revenge. Only in death is Anna able to be free from her father and husband. In
death she is also afforded the power to make these people pay for what they
have done to her. The anonymous author, a woman, writing in a period in which
women had very little control of their life must have been hoping to warn women
about the dangers of men and the world in general. Even if you can escape
wedding the wrong man, you may find yourself haunted by their power, or forced
into a corrupt and unforgiving religious life. Women simply can’t win. Armed
with this knowledge women may better control their own fate, or at least see
that there are often ulterior motives behind the actions of men.
You make a strong case for my decision to have a sex change and time travel to the 17th century. As a masochist, I've long been looking for somewhere to be bullied and mistreated without it reflecting negatively on my character in society.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, you make a good point that it is only in death that Anna is able to exact revenge. As both a sadist and agnostic I find it troubling that I must turn into a ghost to cause others harm or humiliation; unless I'm a frightfully sneaky fox which certainly won't be the case as the doctors have told me I will make for appalling, even offensive looking female and though my legs may be skinnier my feet will stay the same clownish size. I suggest that we look for another era to travel to before making the decision.