Beyond Folklore: Gothic Intersections in Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s Fiction

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to investigate the way in which gothic topoi intertwine with the background of folk and fairy tales in Ní Dhuibhne’s fiction, in terms of characters, setting, motifs, situations and atmosphere. Recognising the presence of gothic tropes can highlight the dynamic intersections of genres, and sharpen the reading of Ní Dhuibhne’s short stories. In her very personal and unique approach to fiction, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne intertextually reworks traditional stories and juxtaposes them to their modern counterparts, thus expanding a sort of ‘palimpsestic memory’ that Maria Tatar identifies in the continuous rewriting of fairy tales. And the fairy tale’s instability as a genre has its counterpart in the gothic, a restless form and an unstable genre, whose influence can be seen in many of Ní Dhuibhne’s narrative and stylistic strategies.