Entre fantasmas e memórias: a presença do gótico em Amada, de Toni Morrison

Abstract

Around the mid-eighteenth century, the Gothic stood out for its exploration of the uncanny, fear, and the supernatural - elements that were both terrifying and fascinating to readers of the time. Since then, the characteristics that defined the genre - such as settings in ancient castles and ruins, desolate landscapes, supernatural creatures, and the constant presence of fear - have permeated the writings of many authors, both past and contemporary. The combination of these characteristic Gothic elements served as inspiration for writers to delve into the human psyche and explore themes of subjectivity, such as madness, vice, the double, and the boundaries of reality. Although susceptible to major changes imposed by the political and social needs of each era, the genre has adapted without losing its original essence, preserving its engaging and intriguing narratives. Today, the influence of the Gothic is evident not only in literature but also in other forms of artistic expression, such as cinema, television, and video games. In Beloved (1987), by the American author Toni Morrison, there is a revival of the characteristic elements of the Gothic to explore issues deeply rooted in the African American experience of slavery. The novel encompasses the stories of various characters but focuses primarily on Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman whose life is haunted by the ghost of Beloved, her deceased daughter, and on Denver, her youngest daughter. In this research, we argue that the Gothic representations present in Beloved go beyond mere narrative setting and extend in a profound and meaningful way to the manifestation of the characters’ traumas, which were repressed in the past and return to haunt them.