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JOHN CLENDENNING (ESSAY DATE 1964)

SOURCE: Clendenning, John. "Irving and the Gothic Tradition." Bucknell Review 12, no. 2 (1964): 90-8.

In the following essay, Clendenning assesses Irving's works within the context of a developing American Gothic tradition.

Although we may scoff at the thrills, tricks, and flights of gothic fiction, its durable influence cannot be ignored. How this popular genre, despite its medieval twaddle and its supernatural bombast, was appropriated by our most serious writers remains an enigma, though some critics have argued convincingly that the genre was, in some ways, serious from the outset. Whatever the case, everyone will agree that the gothic element which survived in the novels of Henry James was distinctly different from the heavy machinery of The Monk. To identify this difference, let me risk a generalization: James learned to subjectify all that Lewis had to...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Primary Sources
   1. Washington Irving (Story Date 1824)
4. General Commentary
   1. John Clendenning (Essay Date 1964)
   2. Michael Davitt Bell (Essay Date 1980)
5. Title Commentary
   1. "Adventure of the German Student"
6. Further Reading