Who's afraid of…?

294 Pages·2012·2.46 MB·English

Representations & Reflections
Studies in Anglophone Literatures and Cultures
Volume8
Edited by
Uwe Baumann, Marion Gymnich
and Barbara Schmidt-Haberkamp
Marion Gymnich (ed.)
Who’s afraid of…?
Facets of Fear in Anglophone Literature and Film
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Contents
MarionGymnich
FictionsofFear–RepresentationsofFearinAnglophoneLiteratureand
AudiovisualMedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
UweBaumann
RulingbyFear/RuledbyFear:RepresentationsofPoliticalViolenceand
PoliticalFearinEnglishRenaissanceCultureandLiterature . . . . . . . 27
AndreaRummel
Romanticism,AnxietyandDramaticRepresentation . . . . . . . . . . . 81
GislindRohwer-Happe
TheDramaticMonologueandthePreservationofVictorianFears . . . . 97
StellaButter
CulturalConstructionsofFearandEmpathy:TheEmotionalStructureof
RelationshipsinGeorgeEliot’sDanielDeronda(1876)andJonathan
Nasaw’sFearItself(2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
SaraStrauß
FacetsofChildren’sFearsinTwentieth-andTwenty-First-Century
Stream-of-ConsciousnessFiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
MarcelInhoff
Fearing,Loathing:RobertLowell,HunterS.ThompsonandtheRiseof
RichardNixon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
KlausScheunemann
FightorFlight–FearinWarMovies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
6 Contents
ChristianKnöppler
RemakingFear:TheCulturalFunctionofHorrorFilmRemakes . . . . . 193
ElenaBaeva
‘ALittleGaspWentAround[…]LikeaScream’–TheUseofTime-Tried
MotifsofFearinShirleyJackson’sWeHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle
andQuentinTarantino’sInglouriousBasterds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
BarbaraPuschmann-Nalenz
NothingtobeFrightenedof?TheExpulsionofFearinKazuoIshiguro’s
NovelNeverLetMeGo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
NinaLiewald
‘Donotbefrightenedbymybeard.IamaloverofAmerica’–Fearand
NostalgiainMohsinHamid’sTheReluctantFundamentalist . . . . . . . 245
ImkeLichterfeld
‘Timormortisconturbatme.Fearofdeathdisturbsme’–Fearand
TerrorinFrankMcGuinness’SpeakinglikeMagpies . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
AntonioWojahn
FearofDeathinJ.G.Ballard’sCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Marion Gymnich
Fictions of Fear – Representations of Fear in Anglophone
Literature and Audiovisual Media
I. Introduction
Fear in its different facets appears to constitute an intriguing and compelling
subjectmatterforwritersandscreenwritersalike.Afterall,manyliterarytexts,
movies and TV productions address fear more or less extensively. Moreover,
thereareanumberof(literaryandaudiovisual)genreswherethedepictionof
fear is virtually a necessary element; Gothic fiction and the horror movie are
amongthemostobviouscasesinpoint.Toacertainextent,theomnipresenceof
references to and representations of fear in works of fiction may certainly be
accountedforbythefactthatthedepictionoffearoftenturnsouttobeacrucial
ingredient in the process of creating suspense. Yet the almost overwhelming
interestinfearoneencountersinworksoffictionisalsoencouragedbythefact
thatfearisatrulyuniversalphenomenon.
Inthecourseofone’slifeeveryoneispresumablyboundtoexperiencesitu-
ationsthattriggerfear(inamoreorlessintenseway).Thisisduetothefactthat
fear can be classified as a basic human emotion – an emotion that is closely
linkedtothesurvivalinstinct,whichisinandofitselfoneoftheessentialforces
governing human as well as animal life. What distinguishes fear from other,
relatedemotionalstatesisthatfearisalwaysassociatedwithaparticularobject
orsituation,or,asJulianHanichputsit,“[w]hileanxietyisfree-floating,infear
we are afraid of something, whether real or imagined”.1 Fear is a perfectly
normalreactiontosituationswheretheindividualisconfrontedwithsomekind
ofdanger;yettherearealsopeoplewhosufferfromfearsthatareeitherexcessive
or that do not seem justified by the circumstances inwhichthey occur at all.
Phobias,whichmaybetriggeredbyawiderangeofobjectsandsituationsthat
aresubjectively perceivedtobethreatening,areacaseinpoint.Bothfearasa
natural reactionto danger and fear as a pathological state are referredto and
1 Hanich,Julian.CinematicEmotioninHorrorFilmsandThrillers:TheAestheticParadoxof
PleasurableFear.NewYork/London:Routledge,2010.19.
8 MarionGymnich
exploredincountlessworksoffiction.Ofcoursefictionaltextsmayvarycon-
siderably in terms of how prominent, how detailed and how psychologically
soundthedepictionoffearis.Inaddition,therepresentationoffearinapar-
ticularworkoffictionisinevitablyshapedbyhistoricallyandculturallyvariable
notionsofhumanpsychology.
Thestudyofthephenomenonoffearfromthepointofviewofpsychologycan
betracedtotheverybeginningsofpsychologyasadiscipline.2SigmundFreud
alreadyestablishedthebasicdistinctionbetweenfearasatemporarystate,i.e.as
a reactionto a specific situation, onthe one hand, and fear as a person’s dis-
position or character trait on the other hand.3 According to psychological
studies,fearisamongthemostbasicanduniversalhumanemotions.4Thus,one
maysafelyassumethatfearisknowninallculturesandallhistoricalperiods,
evenifonehastoadmit thatemotionstendtobeculture-specific toacertain
extent.5Fearmaybetriggeredbytheperceptionofphysicaldangeraswellasby
situationswhichthreatenanindividual’sself-esteem,suchasexamsandpublic
performances.6
Fearasatemporaryaffectivephenomenonisdefinedby psychologistsasa
state that is characterised by an increased activity of the nervous system,
combined with the awareness of being excited, a feeling of suspense and the
subjectiveimpressionofbeingthreatened.7Likeanyotheremotionalstate,fear
canbedescribedintermsofphysiologicalandbehavioural-expressiveparam-
etersaswellasthesubjectivecognitiveassessmentoftheemotionalstate.8The
physiological parameters of fear include multiple processes in the central
nervoussystemaswellasmuscularreactions,forinstanceocularmovements.9
Thebehavioural-expressiveparametersincludefacialexpressions,vocalization
andmovements.10
In psychological experiments, fear is measured by means of different
methods.Reportsofatestpersongrantaccesstothesubjectiveparameters,i.e.
the way an individual experiences fear on the cognitive level, whereas the
2 Cf.Stöber,JoachimandRalfSchwarzer.“Angst.”In:JürgenH.Otto,HaraldA.Eulerand
HeinzMandl(eds.).Emotionspsychologie:EinHandbuch.Weinheim:Beltz,2000.189–98,196.
3 Cf.Krohne,HeinzWalter.PsychologiederAngst.Stuttgart:Kohlhammer,2010.14.
4 Cf.forinstanceHock,MichaelandCarl-WalterKohlmann.“AngstundFurcht.”In:Ver-
onika Brandstätter and Jürgen H. Otto (eds.). Handbuch der Allgemeinen Psychologie –
MotivationundEmotion.Göttingenetal.:Hogrefe,2009.623–32,623.
5 Cf.forinstanceHeelas,Paul.“EmotionTalkacrossCultures.”In:RomHarrƒ(ed.).The
SocialConstructionofEmotions.Oxford:Blackwell,1986.234–66.
6 Cf.HockandKohlmann.“AngstundFurcht.”624aswellasStöberandSchwarzer.
“Angst.”192.
7 Cf.Krohne.PsychologiederAngst.17.
8 Cf.Krohne.PsychologiederAngst.15.
9 Cf.Krohne.PsychologiederAngst.49–63.
10 Cf.Krohne.PsychologiederAngst.43.
FictionsofFear 9
methodofrecordingaperson’sheartbeatfallsbackonphysiologicalparameters
of fear, for example. Neither of these methods is regarded as an ideal way of
measuringfear,however.11Oneofthereasonsfor thisisthatthedifferentsys-
temsthatareinvolvedintheexperienceoffeardonotnecessarilyreactsimul-
taneously.Inotherwords,thereactionsonthedifferentlevelsdonotalwaysset
inatthesametime;nordothey invariablystopsimultaneously:Ifapersonis
suddenly faced with a dangerous situation, the behavioural reaction (for in-
stance: running away) is typically activated more quickly than physiological
reactionssuchasanacceleratedbeatingoftheheartoranincreasedfrequencyof
breathing.12 The different physiological reactions may also be differentiated
quite clearly in terms of how fast the respective reaction sets in. A person’s
heartbeatistypicallyacceleratedbeforethefrequencyofbreathingincreases,for
instance.13Althoughpeoplewithoutexpertiseinpsychologyinalllikelihoodare
largely unawareof the interactionbetweenthe differentparameters of the ex-
perienceoffear,thesymptomsmentionedabovetendtoplayanimportantrole
infictionalrepresentationsoffearaswell.Fictionaldepictionsoffeardonotjust
fallbackonarepresentationofsubjectiveassessmentsofasituationorbehav-
ioural-expressive parameters of fear; very often they allude to physiological
parameterssuchastheheartbeginningtobeatfasteroranincreasedfrequency
ofbreathingaswell.
II. Fear on the Plot Level – Thrills for the Reader and Viewer
Giventhefactthattheexperienceoffear isauniversalphenomenon,itseems
hardlysurprisingthatoneencountersmoreorlessextensivedescriptionsoffear
inawiderangeofliterarytextsandaudiovisualproductions.Inmanyworksof
fiction moments of fear experienced by a character are just mentioned in
passing,butfearmayalsobepresentedasanexperiencethathasalastingimpact
onacharacter’slife.RightatthebeginningofCharlesDickens’well-knownnovel
ofdevelopmentGreatExpectations(1860/61),thegrown-upnarratorlooksback
uponanincidentinwhichheexperiencedfearduringhischildhood.According
to the grown-up narrator, this incident has made him aware of his identity:
Myfirstmostvividandbroadimpressionoftheidentityofthings,seemstometohave
beengainedonamemorablerawafternoontowardsevening.AtsuchatimeIfoundout
forcertain,thatthisbleakplaceovergrownwithnettleswasthechurchyard,andthat
PhilipPirrip,lateofthisparish,andalsoGeorgianawifeoftheabove,weredeadand
11 Cf.Krohne.PsychologiederAngst.15.
12 Cf.Krohne.PsychologiederAngst.15.
13 Cf.Krohne,PsychologiederAngst.16.
10 MarionGymnich
buried;andthatAlexander,Bartholomew,Abraham,Tobias,andRoger,infantchildren
oftheaforesaid,werealsodeadandburied;andthatthedarkflatwildernessbeyondthe
churchyard,intersectedwithdykesandmoundsandgates,withscatteredcattlefeeding
onit,wasthemarshes;andthatthelowleadenlinebeyondwastheriver;andthatthe
distantsavagelairfromwhichthewindwasrushing,wasthesea;andthatthesmall
bundle ofshivers growing afraid ofit all and beginning to cry,was Pip.(Great Ex-
pectations5–6)
Becoming aware of one’s mortality certainly is an experience that is likely to
evokefear,inparticularforchildren.14Likewise,afeelingofbeinglonelyorleft
behind(inthiscasebytheprotagonist’sdeceasedparentsandbrothers)isaptto
trigger fear. Finally, the gloomy atmosphere evoked by the description of the
bleaklandscapecontributestothefeelingoffearthatappearstooverwhelmthe
boy.15 All of this reduces the protagonist Pip to a “small bundle of shivers
growingafraidofitall”,asthenarratorputsit.Butworseistocome.SoonPip’s
crying is roughly cut short by an escaped convict, who threatens Pip in “a
terriblevoice”(GreatExpectations6):“‘Keepstill,youlittledevil,orI’llcutyour
throat!’”(GreatExpectations6)NowthereisanewreasonforfearonPip’spart;
thefearcausedbyfeelingaloneinadesolatelandscapeandbyponderingthefact
thatheisboundtodieeventuallyisreplacedbyareactiontoatangibledangerhe
issuddenlyfacedwith–theencounterwiththeconvictwhothreatenshimand
causes theboy tofeel“mortalterror” (Great Expectations16).The scene thus
illustratesverywellthatfearmaybecausedbyarangeofdifferenttriggers–in
reality as well as in fiction. Moreover, as was pointed out above, the complex
experienceoffearinthissceneisclearlyadefiningmomentfortheprotagonist
Pipandthusremindsthereaderthatmomentsofintensefearmayhavealasting
impactonaperson’slife.
The ways inwhich fear is depicted inworks offictionmayofcoursediffer
substantiallyintermsofhowplausibletheyseemandwithrespecttotheliterary
strategiesthatareused.Fearisoftenpresentedbyprovidingaverbaldescription
ofacharacter’semotionsand/orofphysiologicalsymptomsoffear,suchasthe
character’s heart beginning to race. Alternatively, a character’s fear can be
portrayedbyfocusingonthecharacter’sfacialexpressionand/orhis/herbody
language (including utterances). In films and TV productionsvariouscamera
techniques may be employedveryeffectively to express a character’s fear, for
instancepoint-of-viewshotsorfrequentcutswhichvisualiseacharacter’ssense
14 Cf.thearticlebySaraStraußinthisvolumefortheperspectiveofchildreninthiscontext.
ImkeLichterfeldexploresthepresentationofthefearofdeath–timormortis–inFrank
McGuinness’historicalplaySpeakingLikeMagpies(2005).
15 Thestrategyofpresentingagloomyanddesolatelandscapeinordertocreateathreatening
atmosphere is of course familiar from genres such as the Gothic novel, but also from
audiovisualdepictionsofominoussituations.