Liminality in Seamus Deane's Gothic Novel "Reading in the Dark"

Seminar paper from the year 2023 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Würzburg (Neuphilologisches Institut), course: Irish Gothic, language: English, abstract: This paper starts by defining characteristic traits of Gothic Literature and the concept of liminality, and explains how both can be linked together. It then analyses how both Gothic and liminal traits are intertwined in Seamus Deane's "Reading in the Dark" and how they work to create the novel's defining hopeless, gloomy atmosphere. Also, this paper analyses how characters use liminal techniques to communicate unspeakable truths, yet ultimately fail to escape the liminal space they occupy.