Abstract
In his third novel Carpenter's Gothic (1985), William Gaddis presents a postmodern adaptation of a classic gothic plot: a brutal husband terrorizes his frail wife while scheming to take her inheritance. Gaddis's description of his gothic heroine Elizabeth Booth, with her nervous habits and bizarre fear of mailboxes, as beautiful girl with red hair and this real pale white skin and these great high cheekbones (90) conforms to traditional gothic norms. She is Gaddis's portrait of a gothic lady, his Jamesian dove, shaped by her father's domination and then abused by her husband. However, this novel, Gaddis's sometimes-unwieldy fictional house, serves as its own double: Carpenter's
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call