Paintings, Mirrors and Monstrous Doubles in Irish Gothic Writing

Romancing the Gothic is an independent online education project run by Dr Sam Hirst which offers a range of classes, courses and groups

Romancing the Gothic

‘Mirror, mirror on the wall’: Paintings, Mirrors, and Monstrous Doubles in Irish Gothic Writing with Dr Madeline Potter

All our classes are free so that anyone can come. However, to keep to project going, we do ask that if you can, you use the donate function to support us. Between £1-10 per talk is very kindly appreciated!
What is in a picture? For Dorian Gray, it is everything that is hidden, and everything that is monstrous within the self. But Oscar Wilde’s inspiration can be traced back to his great-uncle, Charles Maturin, and his Melmoth the Wanderer: when John Melmoth burns the portrait of his ancestor, the Wanderer, the latter’s damnation is prefigured. The world of Irish Gothic is replete with the symbolism of mirrors, paintings, and monstrous doubles. In this class, we take a tour of some of the most significant doubling scenes in Irish Gothic: the sinister smile apparently animating Melmoth’s face when his portrait is burnt; the hellish image of Saint Anthony’s Temptation in Sheridan Le Fanu’s ‘Schalken the Painter’; the specular metaphor which lends the title to his collection In a Glass Darkly; the famous portrait of Dorian Gray. Through such telling examples, we look at how this mechanism of Gothic doubling frames theological anxieties. We explore how these grotesque distortions provide material vessels for the diffuse, spiritual horror residing within the self, and why these characters need the uncanny prop of visual mirroring to dig out deeply buried terrors and face the dreadful threat of their own damnation, using the symbol of the mirror, which in the nineteenth-century becomes a tool of negotiating the relationship between individuation and the question of eschatological responsibility.

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Paintings, Mirrors and Monstrous Doubles in Irish Gothic Writing

More events from Romancing the Gothic

Discover more events from Romancing the Gothic, from Hobbies to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.

Paintings, Mirrors and Monstrous Doubles in Irish Gothic Writing

More events from Romancing the Gothic

Discover more events from Romancing the Gothic, from Hobbies to other experiences you might love.

More Hobbies events

Browse more Hobbies events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.