Good and Evil Church: The Two Faces of Catholicism in Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer

Authors

  • Charlie Jorge Universidad Camilo José Cela

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v23i1.192580

Keywords:

Gothic, Catholicism, Ireland, Maturin, Melmoth the Wanderer

Abstract

The Eighteenth Century saw the emergence of Gothic literature, for which the Catholic Church came to represent all the fears English society at large felt towards European continental ‘invasion’, an enemy at the gates. However, some of these novels, full of evil priests and nuns, also include the other side of the coin: religious characters who exert themselves in a Catholic life to find opportunities for exercising benevolence and charity to those in need.

Author Biography

  • Charlie Jorge, Universidad Camilo José Cela

    Charlie Jorge holds a PhD in Comparative Literature and Literary Studies from the University of the Basque Country. The topic of his thesis was a study in depth of the figure of the hero in Charles Robert Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer, a novel that forms the core of his research. He specializes in Gothic literature, Archetypal Studies and Irish Studies, and has been working for some years on the novels of Gothic authors such as Charles Maturin, Ann Radclife or Matthew Gregory Lewis. He has recently published some articles on the archetypes of the Terrible Mother in Irish Literature and the Scapegoat in Melmoth the Wanderer. He is also working on a new scholarly edition of Maturin’s The Milesian Chief for the University of Wales project Gothic Originals, and lectures on Comparative Literature at Universidad Camilo José Cela.

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Published

2021-01-14

How to Cite

Jorge, C. (2021). Good and Evil Church: The Two Faces of Catholicism in Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer. ABEI Journal, 23(1), 13-24. https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v23i1.192580