Gothic fragment

The Gothic fragment is a type of short Gothic fiction popular in the late 18th century, perhaps approaching the popularity of the Gothic novels of the time.{{sfn|Kędra-Kardela|2012|pp=341–342}} Unlike the Gothic tale, fragments focus mostly on atmosphere instead of plot,{{sfn|Mayo|1942|pp=450–451}} and they are written mostly to astonish the reader rather than provide a moral conclusion.{{sfn|Mayo|1950|p=777}} While some fragments attempt to explain supernatural elements of their stories, most do not, and fragments typically start abruptly and end without resolution.{{sfnm|1a1=Grove|1y=1997|1p=2|2a1=Mayo|2y=1942|2p=452}} In this way, Gothic fragments are largely dissimilar from Gothic novels.{{sfn|Mayo|1942|p=451}} Although their beginnings and endings are abrupt, they are not incomplete narratives.{{sfn|Grove|1997|p=9}}

Many fragments were published in literary magazines like the Lady's Magazine and the Lady's Monthly Museum.{{sfn|Mayo|1942|p=451}} Several are inspired by "Sir Bertrand: A Fragment" (in Miscellaneous Pieces in Prose, 1773) and "Montmorenci, a Fragment" (by Nathan Drake, 1790).{{sfn|Mayo|1942|p=451}} While distinctions between Gothic tales and fragments are not entirely well-defined – some stories, like "Fitzalan" (1797), tend to belong in both categories – most fragments are distinctively fragmentary.{{sfn|Mayo|1950|p=778}}

• "Sir Bertrand: A Fragment" – the first Gothic fragment, written by Anna and/or John Aikin (1773){{efn-ua|While {{harvnb|Kędra-Kardela|2012|p=342}}, attributes the story to Anna Aikin, {{harvnb|Pitcher|1996|p=36}}, calls this attribution a "tradition" not fully supported by the historical evidence; he attributes it to the Aikins collectively.}}{{sfnm|1a1=Kędra-Kardela|1y=2012|1p=342|2a1=Pitcher|2y=1996|2p=36}}
• "A Fragment. In the Manner of the Old Romances" – story inspired by "Sir Bertrand: A Fragment" by Mary Hays (1789){{sfn|Pitcher|1996|p=37}}
• "Story of Sir Gawen" – story by Nathan Drake (1790){{efn-ua|Listed as a Gothic tale in {{harvnb|Pitcher|1976}}. {{harvnb|Mayo|1950|p=777}}, states the story was sustaintly altered between its original 1790 publication and its 1798 appearance in Drake's Literary Hours as "Henry Fitzhowen, a Gothic Tale".}}{{sfnm|1a1=Mayo|1y=1950|1p=776|2a1=Pitcher|2y=1976|2loc=§The Gothic tale}}
• "The Two Knights. A Fragment" – story inspired by "Sir Bertrand: A Fragment" by W. G. (1795){{sfn|Pitcher|1976|loc=§ Fragments and visions}}
• "Lothaire: A Legend" – story by Harriet Lee{{sfn|Grove|1997|p=7}}
• "Sir Edmund, a Gothic Fragment" – story by "Fredericsberg Germanicus" (1796){{sfn|Pitcher|1996|p=40}}
• "Montmorenci, a Fragment" – story by Nathan Drake (1798){{efn-ua|Rendered as "Montmorency, a Fragment" in {{harvnb|Pitcher|1976}} and {{harvnb|Mayo|1950}}.}}{{sfnm|1a1=Mayo|1y=1942|1p=451|2a1=Pitcher|2y=1976|2loc=§ Fragments and visions}}
• "Raymond; a Fragment" – story inspired by "Sir Edmund, a Gothic Fragment" by the pseudonymous "Juvenis" (1799){{efn-ua|Also given as "Albert and Albina" in a contemporaneous reprinting.}}{{sfnm|1a1=Pitcher|1y=1976|1loc=§Fragments and visions|2a1=Pitcher|2y=1996|2pp=38, 40}}

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• {{cite journal |last=Grove |first=Allen W. |title=To make a long story short: Gothic fragments and the gender politics of incompleteness |journal=Studies in Short Fiction |volume=34 |issue=1 |date=1997 |pages=1–9 |id={{EBSCOhost|817032}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Kędra-Kardela |first=Anna |chapter=Between a fragment and a whole. A cognitive analysis of the Gothic fragment as a literary genre. A case study of Anna Letitia Aikin's 'Sir Bertrand: A Fragment' |title=Crossroads in literature and culture |editor1-last=Fabiszak |editor1-first=Jacek |editor2-last=Urbaniak-Rybicka |editor2-first=Ewa |editor3-last=Wolski |editor3-first=Bartosz |publisher=Springer |date=2012 |isbn=9783642219948}}
• {{cite journal |last=Mayo |first=Robert D. |title=The Gothic short story in the magazines |journal=The Modern Language Review |volume=37 |issue=4 |date=1942 |pages=448–454 |jstor=3716489}}
• {{cite journal |last=Mayo |first=Robert D. |title=Gothic romance in the magazines |journal=PMLA |volume=65 |issue=5 |date=1950 |pages=762–789 |jstor=459573}}
• {{cite journal |last=Pitcher |first=Edward W. |title=Changes in short fiction in Britain 1785–1810: Philosophic tales, Gothic tales, and fragments and visions |journal=Studies in Short Fiction |volume=13 |issue=3 |date=1976 |pages= |id={{ProQuest|1297933396}}}}
• {{cite journal |last=Pitcher |first=Edward W. |title=Eighteenth-century Gothic fragments and the paradigm of violation and repair |journal=Studies in Short Fiction |volume=33 |issue=1 |date=1996 |pages=35–42 |id={{ProQuest|1297937994}}}}

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Category:Gothic short stories