The rise of the house of Oliver: property and gothicism in Saltburn

Cynthia Beatrice Costa; Fernanda Aquino Sylvestre

doi:10.5007/2175-8026.2024.e99946

Autores

Cynthia Beatrice Costa Universidade Federal de Uberlândia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3063-0121
Fernanda Aquino Sylvestre Universidade Federal de Uberlândia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9387-1395

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2024.e99946

Palavras-chave:

Gothic in cinema, Clash of classes, Saltburn, The Fall of the House of Usher

Resumo

By re-creating the Gothic trope of the visit to the rich friend’s house, Saltburn (2023) exemplifies how matters of property and class may carry cinematic Gothicism outside the realm of the (literal) haunted house. Post-modern in its constant reference to literary works from which it appropriates plot and characters, the film offers a transgressive turn by following the rise – not the fall – of a common man as the owner of the house he desires. Given the low social mobility in the society portrayed, his achievement updates the Gothic tradition of establishing a new order to an old, disrupted environment. The present study examines this hypothesis based on sociological and literary sources regarding matters of class and property, and by drawing a parallel between the film and Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher”.

Biografia do Autor

Cynthia Beatrice Costa, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Letters and Linguistics at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia. Holds a PhD (2016) in Translation Studies from Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. and a Master’s degree (2008) in Literature and Literary Criticism from PUC-SP. Her research focuses on film adaptation.

Fernanda Aquino Sylvestre, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

Associate Professor at Institute of Letters and Linguistics at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia. Holds a a PhD (2008) in Literary Studies and a Master’s degree (2003) in Literary Studies from Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho - Unesp. Her research focuses on American Literature and Fantasy Literature

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