Little hung up on Manfred

So we had an interesting class today I believe. Personally, I really liked the scene from Manfred and it has inspired me to learn more about it. Also, it wasn’t necessarily discussed in class but I thought it had some gothic elements to it. From what I found online, some of the gothic elements that I found in Manfred a bit were as follows:

An atmosphere of mystery and suspense- This possibly could also be just because we only got one scene from Manfred, but it left people wondering (or at least me wondering) what happened to the girl he loved, why is he talking to a witch, and what powers does he have.

Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events- This is easy, simply because I feel having powers of some sort and a witch being present is obviously supernatural. Also going into the fact that if you read the rest of Manfred, the reason why he is speaking to the witch is to find a way to possibly bring his beloved back to life. He also uses spells to summon seven spirits to discuss the situation with and find a solution.

High, even overwrought emotion- Manfred shows many overwrought emotions of guilt, despair, love, and contempt for people. He is so distraught he summons the seven spirits for the purpose of either forgetting his beloved or to die and escape his inner turmoil.

Women in distress+ Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male- I felt that these two go hand in hand for the reason that Manfred’s beloved dies because of suicide caused by how overpowering and possessive Manfred is to her. He even admits that it was his fault when he says “I loved her, and destroy’d her!” then “Not with my hand, but heart—which broke her heart;/ It gazed on mine, and wither’d. I have shed/ Blood, but not hers—and yet her blood was shed/ I saw, and could not stanch it”. This indicates that he knows it’s his fault she committed suicide and that he could not stop it. Before this, he also discusses how she is so similar to him in many ways with the exception that she is kinder and gentler.

The metonymy of gloom and horror- The scene we get doesn’t describe exactly if rain is pouring, etc. to show gloom. But the way he refers to people as clay and that he is to breathe the difficult air of the icy mountain tops, is pretty gloomy.

Also, while reading Manfred and about it, the first thing that came to mind for some reason was The Child Thief. I don’t know who all has read this book or even heard of it, and maybe I’m wrong thinking they are similar; however, both protagonists in both books are very dark and gloomy as well as the setting. The premises of The Child Thief is a darker remake of Peter Pan, and the plot is that the world in which Peter lives is getting destroyed by deformed and ruined humans. Peter repeats his distaste for humans, especially grown men, and how much he loves the wilderness and nature instead. I know that isn’t much of a connection because many books have characters like that, but the way they both talk and think are just very similar. Another connection I made with Manfred is how similar he is to the Phantom of the Opera. Bothe love woman so much it causes dire consequences to them and cause them nothing but sorrow and pain. Both have a love that is twisted, almost as if their love for the woman is so incredibly strong they have no idea how to handle it and it becomes overwhelming and consuming.

Lastly, was I the only one who didn’t see Manfred’s beloved as his sister? I am aware of Lord Byron’s situation and desolation because of his affair with his half-sister, but I didn’t neccissarily picture Manfred’s beloved as his sister as well. I just pictured her as someone he loved. Not that I’m saying it couldn’t be his sister…