Gothic Dissections in Film and Literature

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

   Pages 1-14

3. The Brain

   • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

   Pages 15-31

4. Head and Face

   • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

   Pages 33-47

5. Eyes

   • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

   Pages 49-64

6. Ears and Nose

   • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

   Pages 65-80

7. Teeth

   • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

   Pages 81-95

8. The Tongue, Mouth and Lips

   • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

   Pages 97-110

9. Hair and Fingernails

   • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

   Pages 111-129

10. Hands

    • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

    Pages 131-150

11. Feet and Limbs

    • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

    Pages 151-164

12. Bones

    • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

    Pages 165-179

13. Skin

    • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

    Pages 181-196

14. The Heart

    • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

    Pages 197-210

15. Genitalia

    • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

    Pages 211-225

16. The Uterus

    • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

    Pages 227-241

17. The Stomach, Intestines and the Anus

    • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

    Pages 243-260

18. Epilogue

    • Ian Conrich, Laura Sedgwick

    Pages 261-262

19. Back Matter

    Pages 263-296

    PDF

This is the first book-length study to systematically and theoretically analyse the use and representation of individual body parts in Gothic fiction. Moving between filmic and literary texts and across the body—from the brain, hair and teeth, to hands, skin and the stomach—this book engages in unique readings by foregrounding a diversity of global representations. Building on scholarly work on the ‘Gothic body’ and ‘body horror’, Gothic Dissections in Film and Literature dissects the individual features that comprise the physical human corporeal form in its different functions. This very original and accessible study, which will appeal to a broad range of readers interested in the Gothic, centralises the use (and abuse) of limbs, organs, bones and appendages. It presents a set of unique global examinations; from Brazil, France and South Korea to name a few; that address the materiality of the Gothic body in depth in texts ranging from the nineteenth century to the present; fromNikolai Gogol, Edgar Allan Poe, Roald Dahl and Chuck Palahniuk, to David Cronenberg, Freddy Krueger and The Greasy Strangler. 

• Body horror
• Gothic body
• body parts on screen
• eyes on screen
• genitalia in film
• representations of the brain
• representation of individual body parts in Gothic fiction
• Horror
• teeth in film
• representations of hands
• skin on screen
• the stomach in film
• limbs on screen
• organs on screen
• bones on screen
• Freddy Krueger
• The Greasy Strangler

“Gothic Dissections offers a unique and captivating approach to the gothic. The essays not only uncannily mirror the gothic in their focus on body parts, they also provide a salient and seductive exploration of the abject nature of the gothic. Fascinating, erudite and entertaining, Gothic Dissections is a must for fans of the dark side of film, literature and the corporeal.” (Barbara Creed, University of Melbourne, Australia)

“The range of this book — across literature, film and television — is truly extraordinary. An excellent addition to the literature on Gothic physicality, and one well informed by the necessary scientific and medical knowledge.” (David Punter, University of Bristol, UK) 

“A masterly and compelling autopsy of text and film, with cutting edge approaches to the Gothic corporeal.”(Marie Mulvey-Roberts, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK)

“This is a wonderful book, one that fills a longstanding gap in horror and Gothic studies. A thumpinggood read for a dark and stormy night.” (Joan Hawkins, Indiana University Bloomington, USA)

“Meticulously researched and well written, Gothic Dissections is a deliberate act of dismemberment and rich combinations.” (Gina Wisker, University of Brighton, UK)

“A thrilling dissective approach to the Gothic. Readers will prize the dizzying range of body parts on display.” (Laurence Talairach-Vielmas, University of Toulouse II, France)

“Gothic Dissections is as lively as it is systematic and comprehensive. The first to analyse Gothic culture from the perspective of the body’s anatomical features, the book spans a splendid range of disciplinary perspectives and media and cultural forms.” (Linda Badley, Middle Tennessee State University, USA)

“The body under investigation here is not the monolithic and integrated ‘Gothic body’ of earlier scholarship but the torn and dismembered body of the autopsy table; the authors’ critical attention as exacting as the process of anatomical dissection itself.” (Dale Townshend, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

• School for Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

  Ian Conrich

• Department of English Literature and Linguistics, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom

  Laura Sedgwick

Ian Conrich is Honorary Fellow at the University of Vienna, Austria. He is an author or editor of fourteen books, including Horror Zone: The Cultural Experience of Contemporary Horror Cinema (2009) and The Cinema of John Carpenter: The Technique of Terror (2005).

Laura Sedgwick is studying for a PhD in Film and Gothic Studies at the University of Stirling, Scotland. She is co-editor of ‘Islands and Film’, a special issue of the journal Post Script.

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