SURREALIST CASTLE CULTURE: GOTHIC TRACES IN SURREALIST AESTHETICS

This thesis examines the relationship between Surrealism and the Gothic novel. To date, few studies have examined why the Gothic novel appealed to the Surrealist sensibility. In particular, the neo-Gothic referents in Surrealist visual art have been largely ignored. The clearest connection between Surrealism and the Gothic novel is found within Surrealist leader André Breton's essay “Limits Not Frontiers of Surrealism” (1936). In this text the “castle problem” is introduced. Briefly put, Breton urged the Surrealists to find a modern equivalent to the Gothic castle; a place where marvellous events were bound to occur. It appears that the Surrealists never located a satisfactory alternative to the Gothic castle, because they continued to draw from Gothic imagery. This thesis demonstrates that Gothic leitmotifs, most often the medieval castle, continually surfaced in Surrealist writing, painting, and collage, and explores the potential reasons why the Surrealists were attracted to Gothic novels.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art History

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Feagan, Claire Elizabeth

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Brush, Kathryn L.

• André Breton
• castle problem
• Gothic novel
• Max Ernst
• medieval
• modern
• Remedios Varo
• René Magritte
• Surrealism
• twentieth-century

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/20073

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/20073