Fable, the Gothic, and Horror

"We parted cheerfully, but he was not cheerful, nor was I. There are certain expressions of that powerful organ of spirit -- the human face -- which, although I have seen them often, and possess a doctor's nerve, yet disturb me profoundly" (246).
Sheridan Le Fanu's "Green Tea" (1872)

Points of Reflection

1. compare and contrast the intended audience, probable purpose, and prevailing tone of these short stories

2. what different spin do these stories put on the boundaries between the material and the spiritual? The scientific and the supernatural?

3. which is more powerful in each of these stories, the forces of good, or the forces of evil?

4. how does "Green Tea" configure the supernatural? Is it rooted in faith? In medicine? In both or neither?

5. how do objects of art function within "Green Tea" and "Was it an Illusion? A Parson's Story"?

"Psyche Opening the Golden Box" (1903)
John Waterhouse

Paul Marchbanks
marchban@email.unc.edu