Wieland, Chapter 20 - Charles Brockden Brown (1798) - How Clara's grappling with the disclosure of her brother's trial leads her to question rationality and contemplate the existence of supernatural forces? - Introduction, detailed plan and conclusion

Extract

[...] Wieland, Chapter 20 - Charles Brockden Brown (1798) - How Clara's grappling with the disclosure of her brother's trial leads her to question rationality and contemplate the existence of supernatural forces? - Introduction, detailed plan and conclusion Introduction This excerpt from chapter 20 follows Clara's discovery of her brother's trial account in chapter 19, where he was pronounced guilty of the murder of his wife and children. In this passage, Mr. Cambridge tries to rationalize the events by evoking Clara's grandfather's suicide. [...]

[...] This leads her to question rationality and the nature of reality, trying to understand what could have happened to her brother. While the following chapters will reveal that Carwin was responsible for the haunting voices, not through supernatural powers but because of his ventriloquist ability, the debate on guilt remains, as Clara's brother truly believed that he heard divine voices giving him orders. Through this level of complexity, the reader is left to ponder the fine line between illusion and truth, culpability and innocence. [...]

[...] First, it will explore Mr. Cambridge's attempt at rationalization. However, it will then study Clara's evolving thoughts on the possible causes of her brother's actions, and finally, it will analyze her broader questioning of the supernatural and the limits of our knowledge in the context of these murders. 1. An attempt at rationalizing the supernatural The role of Mr. Cambridge - Clara's uncle appears in the position of the scholar who finds rational causes to the tragic events. [...]

[...] An internal struggle that challenges Clara's certainties Clara's personal experience as a source of questionment: recurred to my own experience", had seen and heard. A form had showed itself to me as well as to Wieland" Struggling with one's own mental instability - Strong contrast between terms describing a kind of pull on Clara ("ideas thronged into my mind", "unable to disjoin or regulate"), and other terms describing reflection reflected", wondered"). - Clara uses a lexical field of fear and violence, highlighting her struggle: "fearful attributes", "abyss", "imbued in blood", dungeon and chain" The threat of suicide creates a parallel with the story of Clara's grandfather, evoking a deep-rooted fear of heredity or contagion. [...]