Gothic Elements in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Abstract

The present paper focuses on Ransom Riggs’ works, on the impact the Gothic genre has had on writers and their texts, and on the evolution of the style up to the contemporary times. The main purpose of this paper is to highlight the manner in which the novelist succeeded in creating a perfect mixture between reality and fiction, taking the supernatural at a higher level. Ransom Riggs is one of the most important contemporary American writers, best known for his novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Partially inspired from his own life, his writings arouse interest due to the mystery and suspense that surround every story, managing to produce strong emotions and lasting effects. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a perfectly constructed fantastic novel, including also all the necessary elements that fit the Gothic genre. Starting with a specific setting – an abandoned orphanage on a deserted island – and continuing with two parallel worlds – the real and the fantastic one – the novel arouses interest even from the first pages. Darkness is a primordial element in Gothic novels, giving a more suspenseful and, at the same time, a more mysterious note. The atmosphere in Riggs’ writing is strange and tense, constantly leaving the impression that something bad is going to happen. The continuous fight between good and evil, between the peculiars and the hollows leaves room for multiple interpretations and, most of the times, leads to confusion and torment. But the narrator tends to find a balance between realism and fantasy, adding also a dose of sensibility and emotion. The protagonist’s reactions towards the supernatural world, the manner in which he tries to fit it and the huge responsibility he feels for the ones around him are the focus of the present paper and Ransom Riggs is one of the most valuable contemporary novelists who manages to illustrate the difficulties his main character has to face in a new and peculiar world.