User:Envylivion/Wieland (novel)

Removed Plot Summary Section

Apparently the novel was based on the true story of murders which took place at Tomhannock, New York (a hamlet near Pittstown) in 1781. Mirroring the incidents of the later novel, one James Yates, under the influence of a religious delusion, killed his wife and four children, then attempted to kill his sister, and expressed no remorse for his conduct in court later.

Brown gave his tragic hero a pedigree related to that of the actual German author Christoph Martin Wieland, who is mentioned obliquely in the text:

My ancestor may be considered as the founder of the German Theatre. The modern poet of the same name is sprung from the same family, and, perhaps, surpasses but little, in the fruitfulness of his invention, or the soundness of his taste, the elder Wieland.

This and others of Charles Brockden Brown's novels were very influential in the later development of the Gothic genre by such writers as Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley and, most especially, George Lippard. In particular, it provided an influence to Logan (1822) by John Neal, who considered Brown his literary father.

Lead Section details removed

It has often been linked to Caleb Williams by William Godwin. Godwin's influence is clear, but Brown's writing is unique in its style.

Vilas, Martin S. (1904). Charles Brockden Brown: A Study of Early American Fiction. Free Press Association.

Main characters details removed

(From Theodore Wieland) He is not as strong as his sister, Clara, which makes him fall prey to the voices and go insane.

(From Carwin) Carwin is generally thought to be the villain of Wieland, though he claims he never told Theodore to kill anyone, a claim supported by Theodore's repeated behavior in Clara's presence where he stands "for a minute as if listening" and acts as if he has heard commands.

Major Themes (Old Version)

Religious fanaticism

A theme of Wieland is the criticism of religious fanaticism. The religious fanaticism of both Theodore and his father demonstrates the subjectivity of the human experience. Even more, it suggests that "godliness can corrupt, and absolute godliness can corrupt absolutely." That the horrors that befall the Wieland family come from the direct result of religious enthusiasm indicates Brown's dislike for extreme religious sentiment. Indeed, it is often suggested that Wieland is an attack on Puritanism (though it is also often thought of as a historical allegory, or even one that explores the writing process itself).

Sensationalist psychology

Wieland calls into question the sensationalist psychology of the time. The plot is based on the psychological ideology of the time, which was solely based on sensory inputs. While the action is based on this kind of psychology, Brown did not necessarily accept the doctrine without criticism. In fact, he calls into question its validity: the characters are trying to find the truth that is disguised by appearance, and the action – especially Carwin's ventriloquism – shows how difficult it is to find truth simply through sensory evidence. What Brown is concerned with is how the mind can be corrupted by unaccountable and dark impulses.

Ventriloquism

Ventriloquism exists as a plot device in Wieland, though it goes beyond this simplistic use; Clara Wieland can be thought of as Brown's ventriloquistic voice. Brown, like Carwin, speaks using Clara's voice. It has been suggested that Carwin's confession of his ventriloquism can be equated with Brown's attempt to speak with Clara's voice. When Carwin says, "I exerted all my powers to imitate your voice, your general sentiments, and your language" (Wieland, 240), it can be read that Brown himself has been attempting as an author to speak using a female voice. Seeing ventriloquism as a metaphor in Wieland reaches a deeper truth: that things may not be as they appear, and genuine truth must be actively searched for.

Limits of knowledge

Events in the novel force the characters to confront the limits of rationality and empirical observation. The main characters' desire to understand the world around them is clear from early on in the novel, shown by frequent discussions in which Clara, Theodore, Catharine, and Henry dissect their everyday experiences. For example, Clara reports that when the group is introduced to Carwin, every "gesture, or glance, or accent" of his was "diligently marked and copiously counted on by us," and "inferences deduced from it" (Wieland 85). Likewise, they discuss the disembodied voices at length and repeatedly seek rational explanations for the bizarre events. However, these efforts at understanding are frustrated by experiences which they are unable to explain (such as their father's spontaneous combustion and their own encounters with disembodied voices) as well as by people who use deception or withhold information (primarily Carwin). In several instances, the characters are even deceived by their own senses, a decided challenge to empirical thought.

History / Background

Need to add a history/background section.

Major Themes (Revised)

Gender

Text

Voice and Perception

The ability of Carwin to divorce a voice from its body via ventriloquism or "biloquism" (meaning double-speech) as it is referred to in the text, draws attention to the problem of over-reliance on the senses. There is a distinction between "liberating voice from the body" and the listener's "(mis)recognition of the voice’s originating body." The latter is what ventriloquism does in the text; a voice, in the character's minds, has to be imparted from a bodily source. If no source is apparent, they assign it one. Subjectivity is put into question.

For example, Clara is shunned by Pleyel when he believes he heard Clara and Carwin speaking at night in the summer home. When his other senses were deprived, he relied only on the incomplete information of his hearing. The otherwise rationalistic character mistook "prejudice, emotion, and false logic for reason" when faced with a choice between believing Clara's account or the disembodied voices.