Mary Lamb and the Gothic - by Zeb Crider

Mary Lamb (1764-1847) was an intriguing character of the Romantic era. Most of her siblings died in infancy. She was not properly schooled, and thus educated herself in a library. She wrote books and poems constantly. She supported her parents by sewing, day and night, until her first mental breakdown. Then she killed her mother and spent several years in a mental asylum. Mary Lamb was even more scandalous and unconventional than most Romantics. Her literary works often times depicted this darkness of her life, though in subtle ways. Her poems frequently took on a dark tone. She reworked the plays of Shakespeare for children, adding her own twist of gloom in many cases. She wrote a fictional epistolary book, with stygian scenes in the lives of the characters. Her works progressed toward insanity and gloom while her life did the same. Interestingly, this disturbing progression lies parallel to the early developments of Gothic literature. Gothic fiction has been categorized as “excesses and transgressions centered around particular images and particular loci” (Botting 1996, 20) where the loci are typical Gothic themes. Other scholars define the Gothic as “a term which could be used in structural opposition to ‘classical’…Gothic was ornate and convoluted…Gothic represented excess and exaggeration, the product of the wild and uncivilized” (Punter 2004a, 7).  It is variously defined, but Gothic generally consists of certain gloomy tropes and dark themes. It is scarcely recognized, but Mary did indeed have a profound impact on the development of Gothic fiction. Mary Lamb, in her life and writings, was a pioneer of the Gothic.

Many of Mary’s friends are viewed as writers of Gothic fiction. She was acquainted with Ann Radcliffe, William Godwin, M. G. Lewis, and Mary Shelley, among others. The works of these writers comprise the core of Gothic literature. Mary’s circle of friends produced many famous Gothic novels, and are accordingly hailed for their work. Many of these works evidently display the influence of Mary‘s life and writings, and they often mirror the nature of her own works. She was an equal member of this group, and easily as Gothic as the rest. She was closely connected to the cultivation of the Gothic imagination in her life and among her friends. 

Yet the name of Mary Lamb remains curiously absent from any list pertaining to the development of Gothic literature. Botting points to “M. G. Lewis…Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe” as early Gothic writers (Botting 1996, 21). David Punter and Glennis Byron advocate Horace Walpole, William Beckford, Ann Radcliffe, William Godwin, M. G. Lewis, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Punter 2004a, 177-198) as pioneers of early Gothic. Robert Donald Spector suggests Horace Walpole, Charles Robert Maturin, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Spector 1984, 15) as particularly definitive in the early Gothic. Thus, many scholars compose lists of Gothic authors which do not include Mary Lamb. There is effectively no mention of Mary Lamb in scholarly lists and discussions of the Gothic. Her Tales from Shakespeare (1807)is normally read purely as a children’s book (cf. Hitchcock 2005, 162), with little focus on the significance of the differences between Mary’s version and Shakespeare‘s originals. Her Mrs. Leicester’s School (1809) is usually read only as “a book for young girls” (Hitchcock 2005, 186), with no emphasis on the social and political implications of the stories therein. Her poetic works to her brother and in Poetry for Children (1810) are often read simply as love poetry and flights of fancy (cf. Hitchcock 2005, 206), rather than in terms of the darkness they convey. All of her works contain gloomy themes on various levels. They should thus be viewed in the light, or rather the darkness, of the Gothic tradition. In comparing Mary’s life and literature to famous Gothic texts, we can easily detect similarities and influences. Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), Godwin’s Caleb Williams (1794), Lewis’ The Monk (1796), and Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) are canonical works of Gothic fiction written during the time of Mary Lamb. Critical analysis of these texts reveals manifold connections to Mary Lamb’s life and literature.

Mary led a life which could have come straight out of a piece of Gothic fiction. Murder and lunacy are two of the most common Gothic tropes; Mary Lamb portrayed both in her life. Indeed, her life actually seems to have made its way into many works of Gothic fiction. Mary Wollstonecraft’s The Wrongs of Woman (1798) tells the story of a woman in an asylum, while Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) depicts an imprisoned woman and her psychological terror; Mary Lamb was imprisoned in asylums and psychologically terrorized throughout her life. Her works contain disturbing scenes of a distinctly Gothic nature. Many of the Romantics surrounding her are hailed as Gothic writers, and display obvious influences from Mary. Her life is easily equal to, and often surpasses, the lives of her friends in terms of its Gothic nature. Comparison of her life and works to the current canon of Gothic literature shows solid connections between them. All of these circumstances point to a singular thought: Mary Lamb was a pioneer of the Gothic. This study aims to demonstrate the influence of Mary Lamb’s life and writings on the literature of other Gothic authors, and to show that Mary Lamb’s literature was essential in the development of the Gothic.

Gothic literature is not easily defined. But while definitions of Gothic fiction do not always agree, certain works and authors are widely accepted as Gothic. Perhaps the best way to formulate a definition of the Gothic is to do so in terms of the accepted canon of Gothic literature. It is generally believed that Gothic fiction began with Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764). This novel tells the story of the tyrant Manfred, prince of Otranto. It deals with a prophecy of doom, which Manfred attempts to thwart by drastic measures. It portrays the supernatural, including the murder of a man by a large helmet, the bleeding of a statue, and a moving figure in a portrait. It combines fantastical occurrences with tragic death. The novel ends with the sad extinction of the last of Manfred’s benevolent children.

Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) is the classical example of the genre. The story is structured around the experience of Emily St Aubert. Her idyllic peace at the beginning of the novel is shattered by the death of her parents and her ensuing imprisonment in the decaying castle Udolpho. Many terrifying dangers threaten her there. Suspense is a key aspect of the novel, and psychological terror shines forth.

William Godwin’s Caleb Williams (1794) centers on its eponymous protagonist. He discovers the murderous past of his employer, and is subsequently imprisoned by the man. Caleb is detained and constantly pursued by his vicious captor. Supernatural barbarity and suspense pervade the novel, with a murderer that is unreasonably and insatiably vengeful.

M. G. Lewis’s The Monk (1796) describes Ambrosio, a virtuous monk who becomes a sinister villain. It deals with supernatural powers and stark psychological contrasts. Also, the monk is an archetypical beauty-to-savagery character; he transforms from a man of great piety to a rapist and murderer. This introduced a notion of stark contrast which became characteristic of Gothic literature.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) tells the story of a mad scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his monster. Victor creates a monster in a fit of madness, and the monster proceeds to murder Victor’s loved ones as revenge. This novel follows a horrible monster wreaking evil on humanity.

This gives a general overview of canonical, early Gothic texts. All five of these novels are considered as foundations of the Gothic, and are cited as such by the foremost Gothic scholars, including Spector (Spector 1984, 15), Botting (Botting 1996, 45. 63), Punter and Byron (Punter 2004a, 177-198). These works presented the basic themes and tropes of Gothic fiction as the genre developed.

A second way to give a description of the Gothic is by way of themes. There are several distinctly Gothic tropes which can help one to establish a sound understanding of the Gothic. “If there is such a thing as a general topography of the Gothic, then its central motif is the castle” (Punter 2004a, 259). The theme of the castle began in Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764), continued in William Beckford’s Vathek (1786) and Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), and has propagated throughout the tradition of Gothic fiction. It has taken various forms, but early Gothic literature maintained the castle in a very particular sense. The castle was, and is, the symbol of the class system. It gives the setting of the supernatural and provides the scene of murder and crime. The castle serves as prison, labyrinth, and dungeon. It hosts ghosts, spirits, and animate suits of armor. The castle is an integral and indispensable element of Gothic fiction.

Another essential component of the Gothic is the monster (cf. Punter 2004a, 263). The general idea of the monster was developed, and introduced to Gothic literature, by Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). It has since seen various changes and interpretations, but the idea remains the same. The monster serves as the warning symbol of divine anger or impending disaster. It is an excellent antagonist, usually having superhuman powers and evil designs.

The concept of the vampire comes from legends which appeared nearly everywhere. The fictional idea was introduced to Gothic literature by John Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) and notably developed by Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) (cf. Punter 2004a, 268). Early Gothic literature had vampires as aristocrats, and usually associated with sexuality. The vampire serves effectively as antagonist, similar to the monster. The powerful enemy is, of course, of paramount importance in Gothic fiction.

Early Gothic literature was thoroughly concerned with paranoia and persecution, developing them as a fundamental part of typical Gothic fiction (cf. Punter 2004a, 273). A classic work of paranoia and persecution is Godwin’s Caleb Williams (1794). This theme is most often manifest in the irrational pursuit and violence of the villain. The protagonist is largely ignorant of the entirety of the evil facing him, but recognizes his persecution by the enemy. That oblivious state of the attacked hero often leads to paranoia.

The Gothic also portrays male and female characters in standardized roles (cf. Punter 2004a, 278). The male Gothic, typified by Lewis’s The Monk (1796), primarily focuses on the male protagonist’s transgression of social taboos. The female Gothic, typified by Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), primarily focuses on the female as an objectified victim whose body is transgressed by the male protagonist. These gender roles dominate Gothic literature.

The uncanny seems to have necessarily found its way into Gothic literature, where it functions well. “A few forms that the uncanny takes…repetition, coincidence, fate, animism, phobia, silence…” (Punter 2004a, 283). Nearly every Gothic novel employs these themes; for example, we see repetition being used liberally by Charles Robert Maturin in Melmoth the Wanderer (1820).

Other common Gothic tropes include violence, abuse, hallucination, and narcosis (cf. Punter 2004a, 288-292). These tropes pervade Gothic literature as well. Violence and abuse are often used, as seen in Lewis’s The Monk (1796), specifically toward women. Hallucination and narcosis present the fitting depiction of the crazy hero or insane enemy. Such topics fit perfectly with the Gothic ideal of literature.

These themes portray the general conception of Gothic fiction. It is difficult to give a simple definition of the Gothic, but one can come to a sound understanding of the Gothic by reading these key works as well as absorbing the main themes and topics. The Gothic cannot be conclusively defined because it is a complicated and transforming genre. This sampling of Gothic literature and themes should establish the correct basis of Gothic thought. Having a conception of the Gothic, we now move on to an introduction of Mary Lamb. 

It was a dreary night in December. The dark horizon warned of terrible weather, and the inhabitants of London were prepared for a horrible night. Evening slowly turned to morning, 3 December 1764, and Mary Lamb was born.

Mary was the third of seven children born to her parents. The first had died in infancy, and three more would meet that sorrowful end; Mary grew up with two siblings. Her older brother was the favorite of her parents, but Mary was partial to her younger brother Charles. He was eleven years her junior, but that did not affect the strength of their relationship.

Mary was mainly self-educated, and it was during her youth that she began to write. Her writing at this stage consisted of poems, mostly written for her brother Charles. They often corresponded by sending poems to each other. Such were the beginnings of Mary’s literature.

Following her years of school, Mary was trained as a seamstress. She disliked the profession of sewing mantuas, but it quickly became a necessity for her family when both her parents became ill. The family had no place to live and a diminished income. Mary spent many long days at her sewing to provide for her family, and she was even forced to manage the household when her mother became paralyzed. These duties took a heavy toll on Mary’s mind over a long period of time.

Mary Lamb was then in her early thirties, and pressed with a hard life. It was during this time that her mental illness manifested itself. Mary was probably manic-depressive, although the disease had no name in the eighteenth century. Consequently, there was no treatment for the disease either. Mary, like many others, simply had to live with the illness.

In September of 1796, the symptoms were amplified. September was a notoriously bad month for sewing, and Mary was already under a heavy burden in life. She became excited, irritable, and tense. On Thursday, 22 September, Mary snapped. It was lunchtime in the Lamb residence, and something sparked Mary into an outburst. She picked up the carving knife from the kitchen table, and began to chase her young sewing apprentice. The screams of the terrified little girl brought words of chastisement from Mary’s mother. Mary then turned on her paralyzed mother, who was a much easier victim. Mrs. Lamb could not escape. Mary stabbed her mother through the heart.

Matricide is an uncommon crime, and this was an uncommon case. Mary was tried by the law, and the jury unanimously returned their verdict: lunacy. Mary was subsequently admitted to a ‘madhouse,’ as they were bluntly referred to in those days. Insane asylums would be a recurring pattern for the rest of Mary’s life, a dominant form reminiscent of a castle.

A few months after the trial, Mary was discharged from the asylum. She was allowed to live with her younger brother Charles, who became her guardian. Charles Lamb had secured a profession in Law, and he ensured that Mary would never have to sew mantuas again. Charles and Mary became very close, and they would indeed spend the rest of their lives taking care of each other. 

Mary’s life was dominated by her illness. She resigned herself to the fact that she could never marry, for fear that she might lash out against her husband. She could certainly never have children either, as lunacy was assumed to be hereditary. She avoided situations that would cause her great stress, and she always worried that she might lose her mind at any moment. 

As she progressed in life, Mary also began writing more. Charles and Mary were asked by William Godwin to write Tales from Shakespeare (1807) as a children’s book for Godwin’s publishing company. They were rewritten plays of Shakespeare, directed at a younger audience. Of the twenty plays retold, fourteen were written by Mary and six by Charles. It was Mary’s crowning literary achievement, and is still in print today.

Mary directed a literary salon for almost a decade, with her brother Charles, which included many prominent people of the day. This network of outside influences helped to keep Mary and Charles from suffocating in their close relationship. It was an outlet for them both, and a strongly intellectual atmosphere.  They were acquainted with William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, M. G. Lewis, and Ann Radcliffe, among others. But Mary eventually gave up on the weekly meetings, as her illness began to worsen.

Charles and Mary grew older, and Mary was still admitted to asylums from year to year. But she had learned to cope with her illness. Then Charles became sick, and Mary went through an episode over the possibility of losing him. They were both confined to beds for some time, each one missing the support of the other. Charles died while Mary was still incoherent, which may have softened the blow for her. She eventually came to terms with his death, but she seemed to have little desire to live any longer.

Mary deteriorated as she passed through her eightieth year. She became deaf and lost any love of life she had left. Alone in the world without her brother, Mary experienced genuine depression that was not due to her illness. She knew she was to be buried next to her brother, and she gradually slipped away. On 20 May 1847, Mary Lamb died at the age of 82.

Mary was the co-author, with her brother, of three published books. She was not expressly listed as author of these books, but her brother and her publisher distinctly acknowledged her as having written portions of them. Of these three works, Tales from Shakespeare (1807) was the first and most famous. This work retells twenty works of Shakespeare, simplified and shortened for children to read. Admittedly, the work does not have an overpowering air of the Gothic. After all, it is only a précis of Shakespeare, where the limits do not allow for explicit Gothic themes. Still, as we will see, there are more dark tones in this than in Shakespeare’s originals. Of the twenty plays reworked, we shall give a brief overview of the fourteen written by Mary.

In ‘The Tempest’, Mary expands notably on the description of Caliban as an “ugly monster” (Lamb 1923, 2), dwelling upon the point for a long paragraph. She gives a comparatively lengthy depiction of Caliban as a “strange misshapen thing” (Lamb 1923, 2). In ‘A Midsummer Night‘s Dream’, Mary spends a few pages to describe the “knavish spirit” Puck (Lamb 1923, 20-22). She also speaks of Oberon as “king of shadows” (Lamb 1923, 27), a quote which was actually taken directly from Shakespeare. In ‘The Winter’s Tale’, Mary portrays Leontes as “a savage and inhuman monster” (Lamb 1923, 35), expanding verbosely upon that point. In ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, Mary represents Don John as “a melancholy, discontented man…labour in the contriving of villanies…hated the prince his brother…the malicious pleasure of making Claudio unhappy…wicked plot…” (Lamb 1923, 58); the description continues on in such a fashion. In ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’, Mary gives a protracted account of Proteus as “a false friend and a faithless lover…determined to forsake Julia” (Lamb 1923, 96-97), and describes vividly how he betrays Valentine. The gloomy themes and sinister character descriptions are much the same in the other plays: Shylock in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ (cf. Lamb 1923, 108), the queen in ‘Cymbeline’ (cf. Lamb 1923, 128), Petruchio in ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ (cf. Lamb 1923, 204-210), and Angelo in ‘Measure for Measure’ (cf. Lamb 1923, 241).

Some of these dark words were indeed from the original plays of Shakespeare. However, Mary only had room to include a very select choice of genuine quotes. She often chose to directly use the darkest of Shakespeare’s words when quoting him directly. This further serves to show her preoccupation with what would come to be known as Gothic themes. Another notable point in these few citations from Mary’s work, is that the gloomy themes are not only present, but they are expanded upon. In these quoted instances, she does not merely mention the character representation, but she elaborates the point substantially.

Mary’s second published work was Mrs. Leicester’s School (1809). This epistolary work was also done in conjunction with her brother Charles, and was also directed at children. It contained ten short stories told from the perspectives of ten young ladies. Three of the tales were written by Charles. We shall here examine the seven pieces penned by Mary

‘The Sailor Uncle’ is the story of a young girl, Elizabeth Villiers, with a deceased mother. The girl regularly visit’s the grave of her mother, and she learns to read by tracing the letters on the crumbling remains of her mother’s tombstone (cf. Lamb 1908, 5-7). ‘The Changeling’ is the story of Ann Withers, who grew up in the wrong house. At a young age, she was traded for another young girl, thus inheriting a wealthy life in a mansion. That secret is finally revealed, and Ann is made to depart from the newly ruined mansion in mortification (cf. Lamb 1908, 26-42). ‘The Father’s Wedding Day’ also portrays a young girl, Elinor Forester, who experiences the death of her mother, then struggles to accept the new wife of her father (cf. Lamb 1908, 43-45). ‘The Young Mahometan’ describes a girl, Margaret Green, whose father is deceased. She then secretly reads an Islamic text and is drawn into a severe sickness from the experience (cf. Lamb 1908, 46-53). ‘The Merchant’s Daughter’ is the story of a girl, Charlotte Wilmot, who is coldly abandoned by her parents. She must then live under poor conditions with another family, and is constantly fraught with gloom (cf. Lamb 1908, 73-75).

Many of these stories, in the first line or the first paragraph, state that the young girl has lost one or both of her parents. Some have a deceased parent, some were orphaned, and some were stolen. But in all these stories, Mary immediately begins with the loss of a parent by a very young child, usually due to death. We must remember too that the stories were all originally intended as the epistolary works of young ladies. Within that context, Mary Lamb seems to stretch the limits as much in the way of the Gothic as possible. Death and abandonment, adversity and sorrow are all common to these short stories for children.

Mary’s third and final published work was Poetry for Children (1810). It was written in conjunction with Charles, and contains over eighty poems. This work was also meant for an audience of children. Within it, roughly one-third of the poems are attributed to Charles. We shall here give a brief overview of the nearly three-score poems which were written by Mary.

In ‘The Rook and the Sparrows’ Mary compares a murderous bird to the cold heart of an evil person (cf. Lamb 1878, 12-13). In ‘The Text’ she speaks of a boy who is rife with vanity and conceit (cf. Lamb 1878, 39). In ‘The Broken Doll’ Mary muses on childhood as a monument, all broken and ruined (cf. Lamb 1878, 47). In ‘Wasps in a Garden’ she focuses on “drowning” and “wasting away” (Lamb 1878, 51-52). In ‘Memory’ Mary speaks of “inmates” and lonely memories (Lamb 1878, 60-61). In ‘The Reproof’ she depicts a beggar-boy who is starved and scorned by his mother (cf. Lamb 1878, 62-63). In ‘The Two Bees’ Mary portrays a vain boy, with his “cruel triumphs” and suffered sorrows (Lamb 1878, 64-66). In ‘The Two Boys’ she represents poverty, longing, and gloomy remorse (cf. Lamb 1878, 110). In ‘Charity’ Mary reflects on the evils of pride, vainglory, and selfishness (cf. Lame 1878, 126). In ‘My Birthday’ she speaks of a deathly-ill boy as his “grief-wasted frame to a skeleton fell” (Lamb 1878, 129). In ‘Thoughtless Cruelty’ she deals strictly with pain, torture, and death (cf. Lamb 1878, 136-137). In ‘Eyes’ Mary depicts the evils and vices hiding behind the beauty of the eyes (cf. Lamb 1878, 138-139). In ’The Spartan Boy’ she portrays bitter battles, suffering, and pain (cf. Lamb 1878, 165-167).