Инокультурные реалии в английской готической новелле

Abstract

Late Victorian and Edwardian “ghost stories” are based on the interaction of rational and irrational motives. This ambiguity is often created with the help of historical and ethnographic details referring to the cultures in which the supernatural is regarded as something real. E. F. Benson’s short story “At Abdul Ali’s Grave” is a good example. The story is told from a European point of view, equally ironical in depicting British “civilized” tourists and superstitious Egyptian peasants. The two cultures collide, so that it becomes impossible to work out a coherent explanation of a mysterious accident in a graveyard (a traditional location of so many ghost stories). The narrative strategy makes it impossible for the reader to choose between different interpretations, and the categories of truth and reality become problematic. Benson’s work, while not being a prime example of late gothic story, is rather typical and helps to understand how and why the genre brings exotic cultures into play.