The Mysterious Mother
E11159
The Mysterious Mother is a 1768 Gothic verse drama by Horace Walpole that explores dark themes of incest, guilt, and religious anxiety within an aristocratic family.
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Gothic verse drama
ⓘ
literary work ⓘ play ⓘ |
| associatedWithAuthor | Strawberry Hill circle ⓘ |
| author | Horace Walpole ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | Kingdom of Great Britain ⓘ |
| criticalReception | considered too shocking for frequent performance in the 18th century ⓘ |
| dateWritten | 1768 ⓘ |
| exploresTheme |
aristocratic decadence
ⓘ
family secrets ⓘ guilt ⓘ incest ⓘ religious anxiety ⓘ sin ⓘ |
| form | verse drama ⓘ |
| genre |
Gothic literature
ⓘ
tragedy ⓘ |
| hasMoralFocus |
consequences of hidden sin
ⓘ
spiritual terror within the family ⓘ |
| hasNotableCharacter |
Adelaide
ⓘ
Countess of Narbonne ⓘ Edmund ⓘ Father Benedict ⓘ |
| hasStructure | five acts ⓘ |
| hasTheme |
Catholicism and confession
ⓘ
hereditary curse ⓘ secrecy and revelation ⓘ suicide and sacrifice ⓘ |
| influencedBy | tragedy of family guilt ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| literaryForm | blank verse ⓘ |
| literaryPeriod | Augustan and early Romantic transition ⓘ |
| literarySignificance | important early example of Gothic drama ⓘ |
| medium | theatre ⓘ |
| movement | early Gothic ⓘ |
| notedFor |
extreme treatment of incest theme
ⓘ
religious and psychological horror ⓘ |
| periodOfWork | 18th century ⓘ |
| relatedWorkByAuthor | The Castle of Otranto ⓘ |
| settingClassContext | aristocratic family ⓘ |
| settingLocation |
France
ⓘ
Narbonne ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
conflict between religious duty and personal guilt
ⓘ
lifelong remorse ⓘ unwitting incest between mother and son ⓘ |
| timeOfAction | late Middle Ages ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.