American Gothic: The Infinite Melancholia

Melancholy: Webster-Merriam's collegiate dictionary defines it as "a) causing or tending to cause sadness of depression or spirit: Dismal or b) depressed in spirits: dejected, sad: Pensive." Perhaps, however, this definition of mere words is not enough to truly describe the state of what humans understand to be melancholy. Melancholy is something that must be experienced in order to understand; it is the utter depths of despair, the lowest regions of sorrow, the feeling of absolute hopelessness; it is American Gothic literature.

The works of authors such as Washington Irving and Edgar Allen Poe, give a whole new depth to what it means to live in a state of melancholia. Page after page, story after story, readers of this American Gothic genre are faced with endless amounts of despair and sheer hopelessness. The great authors of this genre especially tend to focus on the notion of a lack of purpose, a lack of escape, a lack of any sort of soul or heavenly reward. To them, society is one giant piece of rotting wood, plagued with the worms of decay.

Perhaps their apparent, ultimate doom and gloom perspective of life is a mere reflection of what they see in society. Perhaps the stories and poems they write are merely tools to get society thinking, to make the world understand that eternal optimism is at the very least impractical in their eyes. No matter what the motivation however, the truth stands that there is an utter lack of balance in the world of American Gothic. According to the texts of this genre, there is no hope, no reason to live and most of all, no significant shred of acceptable optimism.

Take, for example, Washington Irving's "Westminster Abbey", which seems to suggest the insignificance of life. While the story is highly insightful into the nature of life and death, it focuses almost entirely on the notion of death as the ultimate end to life. Irving describes in vivid detail as he walks through the Westminster Abbey, the oddity of the reality that all people, "good" and "evil" die and decay. He draws attention to the fact that even the greatest of the great will one day be forgotten. This, in a way, suggests that life is without purpose. Of course, this is all under the assumption that there is no afterlife, no heaven, no God, no eternal soul. Let us assume then that this is true, that the notion of God is a falsehood; that life ceases entirely at the earthly death. Even under this assumption, there is a great problem with the notion that one person's life is insignificant.

The problem lies in the fact that we, as humans are not solitary creatures.

It is inherently true that even our most seemingly insignificant day-to-day actions affect more than our own being. Take, for example, the pharmacist. Every day, the pharmacist tediously works to fill endless bottles of pills. With every bottle he fills, he is saving, or at least, improving the life of the person who receives them. He does not fill the bottles for his own self-indulgence; he fills the bottles to sustain the lives of his hundreds upon hundreds of patients.

Or, take for example Oskar Schindler, who during WWII saved over 1100 Jews from certain death. Would Irving be willing to tell the more than 7000 descendents of the "Schindler Jews" that the life of one person is useless or insignificant? Would he be willing to tell them that Oskar Schindler will soon be forgotten and for this his life ceased at his death? I think not, for through Schindler's life and blood, thousands have been given a chance at existence and thousands are yet to come; all of this through one, single life.

Is this not a reason to live? Is it not a reason to hope? Does it not give reason to have even the slightest bit of faith in humanity? Though credit must be given to Irving for his knowledge of the reality that earthly possessions are nothing and fame will soon subside, his message takes a step over the boundary healthy pessimism when he diminishes the value of life. The value of life is something that must never be underestimated. As has been established, a life does not end with the decay of a body; rather, it is passed on through all those whose lives have been touched, whether positively or negatively, by that life.

However, Irving is not alone is his dismal outlook on life. Perhaps no one portrays infinite melancholy quite like Edgar Allen Poe. Story after story of Poe's create grim depictions of human nature and the hopelessness of life here on Earth. Through his portrayal of an apathetic heavenly body and his perception of a world without hope, Poe provides the ultimate example of what it means to be a pessimist.

Through poems such as "Annabel Lee" and "The Conqueror Worm", Poe gives a grim description of what he perceives God and his heavenly followers to be. In "Annabel Lee", the reader is given a sorrowful story of the tortured soul dealing with love lost. In this poem, the narrator states his belief that the angels were actually envious of the love between he and his Annabel Lee and so took her from him in an act of jealousy. This notion totally challenges the general perception of an angel. While most people view angels as inherently good, Poe seems to place them as spiritually equal to human beings, and even lays partial responsibility on them for human suffering.

Again, in "The Conqueror Worm" Poe gives a rather violent description of human grievances as a result of an apathetic God. With an analogous description of heaven and earth as a theater, mankind being the actors and the angels the audience, Poe describes the "tragedy of man". In this poem, while all mankind is being devoured by the horrendous conqueror worm, the angels in heaven weep but do not interfere. This is a totally pessimistic portrayal of heavenly hosts that seems to be a bit melodramatic. While it is true that humanity does face great sufferings, the reality is that we are not being devoured by a hideous worm. Whether there is or is not a loving, nurturing God is not entirely relevant to the point that we, as humans, cannot blame external forces for all of our sufferings. Nor, can we as humans view our sufferings as the defining factor of our lives.

In his writings, Poe, like the other writers of the American Gothic, chooses to focus entirely on the sorrows of human life. This truly pessimistic attitude fails to acknowledge the beauty of life. He does not mention the miracle of a newborn baby's first breath of air. He does not acknowledge the reality that while one person passes on, another is brought into the world. Through his melancholy attitude, Poe chooses to ignore that even those who, like the narrator of "Annabel Lee", grieve for losses, have reason to be optimistic. Some may disagree, but it can definitely be argued that because the narrator was blessed at all with a love so deep, there is reason to keep hope.

Be there a God or not, human beings have a choice in their perceptions of life. Outside forces will always exist to throw a monkey wrench in our plans for happiness, but the way we react to events out of our control is entirely up to us. The works of Poe, as well as Irving, choose the route of the eternal pessimist.

While, the American Gothic movement of the early 19^th century spans far beyond Poe and Irving, the works of these two authors give significant insight into the ideology of such writers. With melodramatic monologues and tales of horror and despair, these writers have tipped the scales of perception so far to the pessimistic side that readers are left grasping for any sign of hope that may keep them from falling into the eternal abyss of sorrow. Is it really necessary to look at life in such a glum way?

Many seem to think that the only realistic way to look at life is the pessimistic way; that those eternal optimists are foolish people walking through life like horses with blinders on. Perhaps this is true. Perhaps the eternal optimist is neglecting the truth of worldly horrors for his own happiness. However, it is also true that the eternal pessimist is neglecting the truth: the truth of beauty, and the truth of the value of life.

Where then, should man lie in his philosophy on life? What choices should he make regarding his perception of the classic "half-full/half-empty glass" analogy? Should he be a pessimist or an optimist? The answer is neither. The problem with eternal optimism and eternal pessimism is that both sides neglect the truth in one way or another. Man needs to examine every facet of every situation and live his life as a "pessoptimist". Yes, that's right, a pessoptimist; a balance between infinite sunshine and infinite melancholy. Examine what the great philosophers say; read the works of the American Gothic writers along with the contrasting works of the Transcendental writers. Take it all in, but take it with a grain of salt, a slice of skepticism and a nice serving of hope and trust. Only when we find the balance between joy and sorrow, can we truly reach our full potential as the human race.

Works Cited:

Irving, Washington. "Westminster Abbey". The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other

Stories in the Sketch Book. Penguin Books. New York: 1961.

Poe, Edgar Allen. "Annabel Lee" and "The Conqueror Worm". The Collected Tales and

Poems of Edgar Allen Poe. Random House. New York: 1991.

Merriam-Webster, Inc. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11^th edition.

Merriam-Webster, Inc. Springfield, Massachusetts: 2003.