We always talk about the Gothic and way it lets us as
readers into the characters head. Well what better way to get inside someones
head than to see them on drugs. In the case of Thomas De Quincey we see this through
his "confession" or "autobiography." Even though his
"confession" is a true story it provides insight into his mind and a
narrative into the pain that comes with an opium eater. By placing us in the
mind set of someone with an opium addiction, are we not also placed into the
mindset of the Gothic? I believe that Thomas De Quincey was first and foremost a
writer so when it came to his, time to confess, he wanted even his opium
addiction to be written about in a way that shows off his skills as a writer. In
this way when we get to the second half of his confession, the pain, we see a
narrative that pulls us into his mind and leaves us almost fearful of the drug
opium, and yet at the same time sympathetic with Thomas De Quincey.
Random facts about De Quincey's "Confessions of an English Opium Eater"
First published anonymously in 1821 in the London magazine.
Served as inspiration to Hector Berlioz's famous piece Symphonie Fantastique.
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| Thomas De Quincey |
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| Thomas De Quincey's Grave |
I also believe that by allowing us in the mind of De Quincey we are given an insight into the mind of an addict. The mindset of Quincey can be looked at as a bit gothic itself. He has a dark and gloomy mindset that we kind of think about when we think about the term gothic. He confesses his addiction in a manner that allows you to see the darkest of times. Doing this kind of places an emphasis on the situation, creating the reader to become more intrigued in the pain section.
ReplyDeleteDeQuincy was indeed first and formost a writer, and his narrative is carefully crafted; he is particularly careful in how he scripts the reader's perception of the speaker. In the section of the first part we did not read, DeQuincy gives a long narrative of his education and time living homeless in London; this prepares the reader to sympathize with him. He also describes opium in technical language, and writes in a philosophical style with complex sentence structures and dense disquisitions. All of this works to create the speaker's credibility, level of education, and philosophical mind *before* the section that describes his dreams.
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