EUL - Mysterious Love Lesson

Mysterious Love

Love can also be mysterious or involve some kind of mysterious elements or scandal. Many literary works and movies have mysterious circumstances preventing two people from being together.

Often, the setting of the love story appears as a mystery. Certain people might hide their love, which creates mystery. Mysterious love is no new idea because mystery creates conflict, and conflict drives the plot.

Read the works of literature in this lesson and note how the idea of mysterious love manifests.

Short Stories: Gothic Literature

The term "Gothic" has a deeper meaning than the colloquial term used today. The Gothic tribe was an old Germanic tribe from the 6^th Century. During the Renaissance, the period of rediscovery from the 14^th to 17^th centuries, the Europeans rediscovered Gothic architecture and art.  

Horace Walpole began the Gothic tradition in the late 1700s with his novel The Castle of Otranto. Gothic literature combines non-fiction, horror, and romance and aims to incite some form of terror in readers.

Just as an epic goes through the epic cycle, and poems have certain attributes and structures, the Gothic genre also has certain elements:

1. The setting is in a castle: The castle is often old and dark with secret passages and trap doors.
2. The presence of mystery and suspense: The plot is driven by the mystery occurring in the text.
3. The presence of an old prophecy that is obscure or confusing: The characters might be trying to figure out the meaning of something or a secret.
4. The presence of omens or visions: The character might see something that is not really there or have a dream about impending death.
5. The presence of supernatural or unexplainable events: Characters might see ghosts talking or inanimate objects moving.
6. The presence of high levels of emotions by characters: The characters will be overcome by anger, sadness, and/or terror. Characters will panic and often think of impending doom.
7. The presence of women in distress: The female characters are often left alone and face events that lead them to faint, scream, and cry.
8. The presence of a powerful male: Males have the power in Gothic fiction, and the females might be forced to marry these men.
9. The presence of metonymy as gloom and horror: A subtle metaphor, such as rain and darkness to create the atmosphere of gloom and terror.
10. The presence of Gothic vocabulary: The text will use words to enhance the dark mood and tone of the work.

Reading Assignment: "The Queen of Spades" by Aleksandr S. Pushkin

Click here to read a short story by Aleksandr S. Pushkin called "The Queen of Spades." Links to an external site. As you read, note the different characters and how the story does or does not contain the elements of Gothic literature.  Also, determine how the theme of "mysterious love" appears in this short story. 

About the Author - Aleksandr S. Pushkin

Aleksandr S. Pushkin was a Russian author who many believe to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. It is very possible that "The Queen of Spades" was inspired by Pushkin's own life and that his love for a countess is shown through Hermann's love for Lise.

Gothic Reading Interactivity

After you have read and studied the short story, participate in this interactivity to review before moving on to your assignment.