Filling in the Epistemological Gap: Projected Meaning and Trauma in Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves

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Engelse taal en cultuur (BA)

Rood, Branco (2024)

Filling in the Epistemological Gap: Projected Meaning and Trauma in Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves

Bachelor thesis | Engelse taal en cultuur (BA)

In this thesis, I examine the gothic and metafictional genre elements of Mark Z. Danielewski's novel 'House of Leaves.' Chapter 1 is split into two sections: section 1.1 contains an analysis of the gothic elements present in 'The Navidson Record' central to the novel and, in section 1.2, I proceed to examine the novel's metafictional characteristics and how metafiction and Gothicism are intertwined in the text. In both preceding sections, the reader's knowledge gap—referred to in my thesis as the epistemological gap—is prevalent in my reading of the novel. Consequently, in Chapter 2 I explore this knowledge gap further, relating it to the gothic and metafictional elements analyzed in the preceding chapter. Lastly, I argue that the audience might fill the epistemological gap by projecting their own personal interpretations of the text onto it. One of the main characters inside the narrative, Johnny Truant, projects his childhood trauma onto the text and processes it in his...Show moreIn this thesis, I examine the gothic and metafictional genre elements of Mark Z. Danielewski's novel 'House of Leaves.' Chapter 1 is split into two sections: section 1.1 contains an analysis of the gothic elements present in 'The Navidson Record' central to the novel and, in section 1.2, I proceed to examine the novel's metafictional characteristics and how metafiction and Gothicism are intertwined in the text. In both preceding sections, the reader's knowledge gap—referred to in my thesis as the epistemological gap—is prevalent in my reading of the novel. Consequently, in Chapter 2 I explore this knowledge gap further, relating it to the gothic and metafictional elements analyzed in the preceding chapter. Lastly, I argue that the audience might fill the epistemological gap by projecting their own personal interpretations of the text onto it. One of the main characters inside the narrative, Johnny Truant, projects his childhood trauma onto the text and processes it in his annotations to 'The Navidson Record.'Show less

Gothic

Gothicism

metafiction

experimental literature

gothic horror

gothic fiction

trauma

traumatic experiences