'Nothing moved, nothing was seen, nothing was heard and nothing happened': Evil, Privation and the Absent Logos in Richard Marsh's The Beetle

Marsden, SJ ORCID: 0000-0001-5404-5202 (2017) 'Nothing moved, nothing was seen, nothing was heard and nothing happened': Evil, Privation and the Absent Logos in Richard Marsh's The Beetle. Gothic Studies, 19 (1). pp. 57-72.

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Abstract

This essay explores the influence of the theological tradition of privation theory upon Richard Marsh's novel The Beetle (1897). Focusing on images of ontological nothingness, corruption and uncreation, it argues that the novel employs the concept of privation both in its depiction of the supernatural Other and in its parallel interrogation of its contemporary modernity. Imagery of privation in the novel is associated not only with the Beetle itself, but with the modern urban environment and weapons of mass destruction. The essay concludes by examining the corruption of language and absence of a creative logos able to respond adequately to the privations of the modern city and industrial economy.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Beetle, Richard Marsh, gothic, victorian, evil, theology
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2016 09:25
Last Modified:	13 Jul 2023 04:42
DOI:	10.7227/GS.0019
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3001626