Gothic elements, spooky settings and supernatural incidents – these are some things that probably come to people’s minds when they think of Charles Brockden Brown and Edgar Allan Poe. These features definitely appear in most of their stories, for example in Brown’s novel Wieland; or The Transformation and in Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, which will play a major role in this work. When comparing the novel and the short story the reader’s attention is attracted by several parallels between the two stories. The most striking common motifs, which have been pointed out and analyzed by many literary critics , are those of incestuous love and inherited madness. Although I won’t focus on any of these issues in this work, it is always important to keep these parallels at the back of one’s mind.
In the following I am primarily going to concentrate on questions of epistemology, which The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines as “the study of knowledge and justified belief” (Stanford Encyclopedia 1). The Encyclopedia states that “[a]s the study of knowledge, epistemology is concerned with the following questions: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of knowledge? What are its sources? What is its structure, and what are its limits?” (Stanford Encyclopedia 1) Here I’ll mainly be concerned with the sources of knowledge and I will point out how the different characters in Charles Brockden Brown’s novel Wieland; or The Transformation and in Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories “The Fall of The House of Usher” and “The Sphinx” try to make use of these sources.
More precisely, I will argue that Charles Brockden Brown and Edgar Allan Poe show the limits of epistemology by creating characters who try to acquire knowledge through different approaches, but fail in the end. Both authors respond to their cultural and historical background and present a rather pessimistic view of the new American nation.
In the following I will very briefly describe the historical and cultural background of Brown and Poe’s writings and explain to what extent the contents of Wieland, and “The Fall of the House of Usher” are influenced by and related to this background.
Table of Contents
1. The Sources of Knowledge
2. The Importance of the Historical Background
2.1 Historical Background of Charles Brockden Brown’s Writings
2.2 Historical Background of Edgar Allan Poe’s Writings
3. Rationalism as a source of knowledge
3.1 Rationalism in Wieland
3.2 Rationalism in “The Fall of the House of Usher”
4. Anti-rationalism and enthusiasm as sources of knowledge
4.1 Anti-rationalism and Enthusiasm in Wieland
4.2 Anti-rationalism and Enthusiasm in “The Fall of the House of Usher”
5. Other Concepts as Sources of Knowledge
5.1 The Republican Concept of Vigilance
5.2 Book Learning as a Source of Knowledge
5.3 Transcendentalism as a Source of Knowledge
6. The Readers’ Reactions and Conclusions
6.1 The Effect on the Reader – Fantastic or Uncanny?
6.2 The Limits of Epistemology
Research Objectives and Themes
This work explores the limits of epistemology in the works of Charles Brockden Brown and Edgar Allan Poe. It investigates how characters attempt to acquire knowledge through various approaches—such as rationalism, empiricism, and religious enthusiasm—and why these attempts ultimately fail, resulting in a pessimistic view of the human condition and the new American nation.
- The failure of rationalism and empiricism in acquiring true knowledge.
- The destructive nature of religious enthusiasm and anti-rationalist thought.
- The irony of the republican concept of vigilance in social and personal stability.
- The role of historical and cultural influences, including the American Renaissance and transcendentalism.
- The classification of reader experience through the categories of the fantastic and the uncanny.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1. Rationalism in Wieland
One concept that plays an important role in Brown’s novel is that of rationalism. In Wieland Pleyel is the most rational of all characters. When Clara introduces Pleyel to the reader she states that “Pleyel was the champion of intellectual liberty, and rejected all guidance but that of reason” (Brown 28). When Wieland hears the mysterious voice for the first time, Pleyel tries to explain this phenomenon rationally. Clara tells us that “Pleyel did not scruple to regard the whole as a deception of the senses. Perhaps a voice had been heard; but Wieland’s imagination had misled him in supposing a resemblance to that of his wife, and giving such a signification to the sounds” (Brown 38). Later on she states that “He scrupled not to deny faith to any testimony but that of his senses” (Brown 85 f). This implies that Pleyel absolutely trusts his senses.
An example for this empiricist mindset is the alleged conversation between Carwin and Clara where he absolutely relies on what he hears. When Pleyel accuses Clara of having a love affair with Carwin, she tells him the following: "And where are the proofs that must justify so foul and so improbable an accusation? You have overheard a midnight conference. Voices have saluted your ear, in which you imagine yourself to have recognized mine, and that of a detected villain.[...] The nature of these sentiments did not enable you to detect the cheat, did not suggest to you the possibility that my voice had been counterfeited by another." (Brown 134)
Pleyel’s replies: “Thou canst look me in the face and say that I am deceived!” (Brown 135) This shows that he rejects the possibility of having been misled. Instead he trusts his senses. So Pleyel can be characterized as an empiricist and rationalist because he relies upon the perceptions of his senses and values reason over feelings.
Summary of Chapters
1. The Sources of Knowledge: Introduces the focus on epistemology in the works of Brown and Poe and defines key terms like rationalism, empiricism, and enthusiasm.
2. The Importance of the Historical Background: Examines the unstable socio-political climate of the early American republic for Brown and the cultural anxiety of the 1830s for Poe.
3. Rationalism as a source of knowledge: Analyzes the failure of characters like Pleyel and the narrator of "The Fall of the House of Usher" to find truth through rationalism.
4. Anti-rationalism and enthusiasm as sources of knowledge: Explores how reliance on faith and sensory perception leads to catastrophe for Theodore Wieland and Roderick Usher.
5. Other Concepts as Sources of Knowledge: Discusses the failure of vigilance, the critique of book learning in "The Sphinx," and the clash with transcendentalist ideals.
6. The Readers’ Reactions and Conclusions: Evaluates the stories as instances of the fantastic or uncanny and summarizes the final conclusion regarding the limits of epistemology.
Keywords
Epistemology, Rationalism, Empiricism, Anti-rationalism, Enthusiasm, Vigilance, Transcendentalism, American Renaissance, Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Allan Poe, Wieland, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Sphinx, Fantastic, Uncanny.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic work?
The work examines the epistemological crisis in the novels and short stories of Charles Brockden Brown and Edgar Allan Poe, specifically focusing on the failure of various methods of acquiring knowledge.
What are the core thematic fields addressed in this analysis?
Key themes include the failure of rationalism, the dangers of blind religious enthusiasm, the socio-political implications of republican vigilance, and the critique of transcendentalist philosophy.
What is the central research question?
The study investigates whether rationalism, faith, vigilance, or other approaches can provide a reliable source of knowledge for the protagonists, and ultimately argues that all these paths lead to failure.
Which scientific methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a literary analysis approach, drawing on established epistemological definitions and contemporary literary theory—specifically the categories of the fantastic and the uncanny—to interpret the primary texts.
What topics are covered in the main body of the work?
The main body details the historical backgrounds of the authors, the failure of rationalist characters, the destructive nature of enthusiasm, and a comparative analysis of how different concepts fail to provide true knowledge.
Which keywords characterize the essence of the work?
Essential keywords include epistemology, rationalism, empiricism, enthusiasm, transcendentalism, and the fantastic.
How does the author define the "republican concept of vigilance" within Wieland?
Vigilance is interpreted as a social and political expectation in the early American republic, where citizens were encouraged to observe their environment closely to prevent subversion, though in the novel, this leads to paranoid obsession rather than truth.
Why does the author classify "The Sphinx" as an example of the "uncanny" rather than the "fantastic"?
The story is classified as uncanny because, unlike fantastic tales that remain perpetually unresolved, the mysterious phenomenon in "The Sphinx" is rationally explained by the end of the narrative.
How does the author interpret the failure of the narrator in "The Fall of the House of Usher"?
The narrator, despite attempting to maintain a rational outlook, fails because he is passive; he observes the "symptoms" of the House of Usher but lacks the vigilance or ability to act, ultimately being consumed by the atmosphere of terror.
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- Anna Poppen (Autor:in), 2008, A Hopeless Endeavor. The Quest for Knowledge in Wieland, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/230241
