Wieland as a Tale of Transatlantic Identity Anonymous College

Charles Brockden Brown’s Wieland (1798) is perhaps his most famous work, and has justified claim to be categorised as a text of ‘transatlantic identity’. For the purpose of this essay, the definition of ‘transatlantic identity’ will be as follows: ‘the state of converging existing European (usually British) conventions with that of growing American culture’. When analysing Wieland, it is important to discuss its significance as a Gothic text. Works in this genre attempt to combine darker aspects of fiction, such as horror and death but also include romance, and these are all present within Wieland. However, it would be irresponsible to simply label this text as Gothic when this tale was one of the pioneering works of the American Gothic sub-genre, a genre that attempted to focus more on the darker aspects of Gothic fiction and combine them with the growing American environment. How does this text’s work in pioneering a new sub-culture of American literature affect its identity? Furthermore, how far does Wieland show European (specifically British) influence in what is ostensibly an American text? In addition to its work for the Gothic genre, the effect that this text has had on female voices within literature, especially their...