Psychogeography and the Macabre

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Edem Makantasis up707998

Architecture Culture and Identity

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PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY AND THEMACABRE

Reconnecting London to its Gothic literaryidentity

Edem Makantasis


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PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY AND THE MACABRE:

Reconnecting London to its Gothic literary identity

Edem Makantasis ACI 707998

March 2 Architecture

University of Portsmouth

2015


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DECLARATION

UNIT TITLE: Unit 403 Critical Writing

TITLE OF ASSESSMENT: Psychogeography andthe Macabre: Reconnecting London to its Gothic

literary identity

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

I affirm that this Assignment, together with anysupporting artefact, is offered for assessment as

my original and unaided work, except insofar asany advice and/or assistance from any other

named person in preparing it, and any quotationused from written sources are duly andappropriately acknowledged.

Name : Edem Makantasis

Signature of Course Member:

Date: 22th January 2015


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Abstract

Gothic Fiction is one of the most fascinating ways to tell astory. Most people associate gothic with horror and thesupernatural, but I believe that's only the tip of the iceberg.It is a wave of expression that gives people the opportunityto manifest their thoughts and desires through art andliterature and explore these ideas beyond the boundaries ofour normality. Gothic novels had much success, especiallyduring late Victorian era. They managed to connect to the

people and produce some of the most famous narratives inLiterature like Dracula and Frankenstein. Themes aboutfear, passion and forbidden desires were combined indifferent and uniquely creative ways to offer a series ofemotions to the readers. Their connection and references toexisting London areas changed the way London was

perceived and eventually became part of city's identity.However this is not the case anymore, as many features thatdefined the Gothic are lost beneath the facade of modern

society. The written thesis will focus on the connectionbetween London and the Gothic, as well as the methods thatcould help to bring back its macabre identity.


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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my written thesis tutor TinaWallbridge for her support, guidance and patience duringtutorials and conversations and to Elizabeth Tuson as mystudio tutor for pointing me at the right direction during

early stages of the thesis.

I would also like to thank my parents for their continuoussupport and trust in me all these years. I would not be hereif it wasn't for them.

Special thanks to my house mates for their psychologicalsupport during the writing of the thesis.


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Contents

Declaration v.

Abstract vii.

Acknowledgements ix.

List of Illustrations xii.

Introduction 1.

Psychogeography:

Defining psychogeographical fields 4.

The Surrealists and Situationists 5.

Derive, Detournement and the Flaneur 6.

Psychogeography today 11.

Gothic:

Cultural Linkages: Gothic Literature and British identity16.

The Macabre 26.

Gothic Mapping of Victorian London 30.

The psychogeographical cases of Gothic London 37.

Conclusion 42.

Bibliography 48.

Sources of Illustration 50.


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List of Illustrations

Cover Image-The Flaneur of London, Edem Makantasis, 2014

Figure 01- Map of Victorian London, Edem Makantasis, 2014

Figure 02-Strolling in modern London, Edem Makantasis, 2014

Figure 03- Psychogeographic guide of Paris, Guy Debord, 1955

Figure 04- The Naked City, Guy Debord, 1957

Figure 05- Le Flneur, Paul Gavarni, 1842.

Figure 06- The Labyrinth of Rotherhithe, Edem Makantasis, 2014

Figure 07- Over London by Rail, Gustave Dore, 1872

Figure 08- The Ghost of a Flea, William Blake, 18191820

Figure 09- A Suspicious Character, Illustrated London News,October 13 1888

Figure 10- Spring Heeled Jack, Penny Dreadful, 1890

Figure 11- Penny Dreadful Illustrations,

Figure 12- Rain, Steam and Speed The Great Western Railway,J.M.W. Turner, 1844

Figure 13- Illustration from The Mysteries of Udolpho, 1806


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Figure 14- The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli, 1781

Figure 15- Liverpool Street Station, London,1904

Figure 16- Map of Dracula in London

Figure 17- Map of Dracula in East End, London,

Figure 18- Map of Dracula in Piccadily

Figure 19- The Black Death

Figure 20- Gothic Literature and London map, Edem Makantasis,2014

Figure 21- Crime Mapping in London, Edem Makantasis, 2014

Figure 22- Unite dmbiance in London, Edem Makantasis, 2014

Figure 23- Potential site for an Architectural intervention, EdemMakantasis, 2014


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Introduction

Today's London is undoubtedly one of the most historical and famouscities in the world with a metropolitan area of over 13 million people

and having been a major settlement for two millennia with a historythat goes back as far as the Roman empire. Its impact on the averagevisitor, traveller or citizen, is huge. There are various aspects of Londonthat stay in our memories. These could be the architecture, the events,the landmarks or the politics that come with a modern metropolis. All of

them, form an identity that defines modern London and our experience.Most people who visit London already know what they want to visit, theplaces they want to see and the streets they want to walk. There is thispre-planned journey of London, or at least what modern media indicate

that London is. The whole experience becomes a series of missions. It isa phenomenon that not only applies to tourists but also to Londoners.

As a tourist you have specific predefined routes that you will take andas a Londoner you have your everyday routes that take you from yourhome to your job and back again. The city is defined by its go to points,and the journeys in-between are ignored. A good example would be theunderground system where you experience the start and the end of thejourney, but the rest is just a series of black blurry images or theinterior of the coach. The idea of an impulsive walk, driven by ourinstincts and curiosity, is not there anymore. It is a shame consideringhow many people were inspired by their experiences of such a journey.

These inspirations led to the birth of gothic literature. Charles Dickens,Daniel Defoe and Robert Stevenson are just a few examples of this waveof writers that were inspired by London's darkest secrets and corners.The city gave and received. What? Another layer of identity of course. Itwas an interaction that benefited both sides. On the one hand, itprovided the perfect atmosphere and mood to the authors, poets oreven artists. There were many places within the city that were hauntedby macabre images or stories. Darkness let the imagination run wildand when that happens, it creates a need. This need to expressemotions and feelings, resulted in some of the best depictions ofLondon through gothic storytelling. On the other side, all these versionsof a dark and dangerous London, brought a new aspect of London that

would later fascinate people for generations to come. The urbanexplorer took and gave back.


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This interactive relationship has resulted in mapping London in

different ways, based on different interests, people and circumstances.However, today it has become very hard to reveal that macabre side of

the city. The history of darkness, truth or fiction, is part of the history ofLondon. Nevertheless, the modern explorer may be influenced by a lotof factors, but no longer by fear. The problem is not that there is anabsence of horror, but that it has stopped being a source of inspiration.In a way, it seems reasonable since the appreciation of the macabredoesn't come from appreciation of fear, but from the combination withother feelings and emotions.

Since the macabre is not experienced these days, can we rediscoverthat gothic vision in today's modern London? These are the main

questions that the thesis is going to focus on. It is very important tounderstand the relationship between the voyager and his journeythrough the urban environment and I will examine is psychogeography.Most of the gothic literature about London was an outcome of differentinterpretations of the walks and information obtained by the authors

through mapping of the senses and the emotions, which is more or lessthe definition of psychogeography. According to Guy Debord "It's thestudy of the specific effects of the geographical environment,consciously organised or not."1. In the section 'Psychogeography' I'mgoing to explore this further, because it is essential to know the history

and the basic ideas behind it, before it can be applied to the macabre.The chapter is going to be divided, based on definitions, historical

groups and movements that were associated with it.

1Cddc.vt.edu, 'Situationist International Online', 2015


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In order to understand the background and the significance of the

Gothic narrative. 'Gothic' is going to look at how the darkest sideLondon was projected through history and literature by examining the

role of psychogeography during that period. I'm going to subdivide thechapter again based on the definitions, it's connection to the Britishidentity, the literature and it's psychogeographical applications. Thisprocess aims to find a method or strategy that might later be applied inorder to bring back that lost interaction. Once a formula is extracted, itwill be important to look at how the research can bring us closer to ananswer. The conclusion is going to suggest ways in whichpsychogeographical ideas and architecture can cooperate by looking forpotential areas in London where the design thesis could contribute inbringing back the interaction between us and the macabre.


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Psychogeography:

Defining psychogeographical fields

Psychogeography is a term that is very hard to define. One could make a

quick assumption by saying that it's the point where psychology andgeography meet and he wouldn't be too far. Similar to the act ofwalking, psychogeography can be described as :

.. a constellation whose three stars are the body, the imagination and the

wide-open world'2

Merlin Coverley refers to psychogeography as a term that resistsdefinition "through a shifting of series of interwoven themes and

constantly being shaped by its practitioners"3.Generally, it is a device tobe used by those who seek to reveal the true nature of our surroundingswithin the urban environment that is hidden behind the flux of theeveryday. It has been used to generate a literary movement, a politicalstrategy, a representation of new age ideas and a set of avant-gardepractices and it is connected to famous movements and groups ofpeople like the Letterist Group and the Situationists International.

Although psychogeography can be traced back to the avant-gardemovement of the Letterist International and Guy Debord, it is thevariety of different interpretations, by the people who studied it, thatare most intriguing. A good example is the contrast between the

Surrealists playful approach and the Situationists scientific approach.The first group used psychogeography as a device to transform our'experience of everyday life and replacing our mundane existence withan appreciation of the marvellous'4, while the second, under theguidance of Debord, followed a 'more serious-minded attempt tochallenge the bourgeois orthodoxies of the day'5, which of course led to

the 'derive' and 'detournement', two techniques that have a big role inthe field of psychogeography.. Both terms are going to be explainedlater.

2Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust (Viking 2000)p2123Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p104Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p735Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p23


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The Surrealists and Situationists

Before basic psychogeographical terms are explored, it is important tohave a look at the historical movements and groups that interacted andused psychogeographical terms and ideals. Two of the most important

were the Surrealists who were mostly associated with the flaneur andthe urban wanderer of the streets of Paris and the second one is theSituationist group who focused on the explorational ideas of the Britishurban environment and more specifically London.

Surrealism was a cultural movement of the early 1920s that wasexpressed mainly through art and creative writing. It can be dated fromthe publication of Andre Breton's 'Manifesto of Surrealism' in 1924 but

their relationship with psychogeography started earlier in 1918 whenLouis Aragon and Breton produced the psychogeographical novel.Breton's defines Surrealism in his Manifesto :

'I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality,

which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a

surreality, if one may so speak'6

These notions would later find psychogeography as the perfect deviceto challenge the public's perceptions with the 'flaneur', a term that isgoing to explained in the next section.

The Situationists, however, were an organization with a more politicaland straightforward way of seeing the world. They consisted ofintellectuals, avant-garde artists and political theorists and as a groupthey 'developed an armoury of confusing weapons intended constantlyto provoke critical notice of the totality of lived experience and reversethe stultifying passivity of the spectacle'7. They rejected the Surrealist'sidea of submission to the subconscious and the irrational force becausethis type of imagination is 'poor' and lacks the element of surprise.

6Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p737Sadie Plant, (1992) The most radical gesture p60


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Derive, Detournement and the Flaneur

One of the many terms that the Situationists created was the theory ofthe 'derive'. According to their terminology :

'Derive is a mode of experimental behaviour linked to the conditions of

urban society: a technique of transient passage through varied

ambiances. Also used to designate a specific period of continuous

deriving'8

'In a derive one or more persons during a certain period drop their

relations, their work and leisure activities, and all their other usual

motives for movement and action, and let themselves be drawn by the

attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there. Chance is a

less important factor in this activity than one might think: from a derive

point of view cities have psychogeographical contours, with constant

currents, fixed points and vortexes that strongly discourage entry into or

exit from certain zones.'9

The main source of confusion with this theory was the contradictionbetween the idea of the unplanned journey and the 'domination ofpsychogeographical variations by the knowledge and calculation oftheir possibilities'.10

Detournement was the second technique that was by the Situationists.It was the act of using elements in a new and different way to promotean agenda and in this case, that agenda was to transform urban life. The

official definition states:

'Detournement is integration of present or past artistic production into

a superior construction of a milieu. In this sense there can be no

situationist painting or music, but only a situationist use of these means.

In a more primitive sense, detournement within the old cultural spheres

is a m ethod of propaganda...'11

Could the derive and detournement be used today as a strategy topromote specific ideas and visions of the city? The Situationistsmovement did it, but it did not focus enough on the subject. It is the

8Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p939Debord G. (1958). Int ernationale Situationniste #2

Online at: http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/theory.html. Accessed on 2/1/2015.10Debord G. (1958). Internationale Situationniste #2

Online at: http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/theory.html. Accessed on 2/1/2015.11Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p94


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urban wanderer who has to explore, feel and respond to his

experiences. In psychogeographical terms, this person is called the'flaneur', 'mental traveller' or 'stalker' as he is both the subject and theobject of analysis.

'Flanerie is the activity of strolling and looking which is carried out bythe flaneur'12who becomes a recurring theme in literature, art and themetropolitan representation in fiction and real life. However the flaneuris connected to his journey more romantic and artistic aspect of the city.He sees art and he delivers art.

'..is the individual sovereign of the order of things who, as a poet or as

the artist, is able to transform faces and things so that for him they have

only that meaning which he attributes to them.'13

12Keith Tester, The Flneur (Routledge 1994)p113Keith Tester, The Flneur (Routledge 1994)p6


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Figure 03- Psychogeographic guide of Paris, Guy Debord, 1955


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Figure 04- The Naked City, Guy Debord, 1957


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Figure 05- Le Flneur


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Psychogeography today

What about today? What is the significance of psychogeography today?It is important to have a glimpse of the way it's been treated and usedthese days in order to have an understanding of where did all those

theories and strategies lead today and how they can be reused. One wayto achieve that, is by taking a look at the work of modernpsychogeographers, especially those who played a big role in the revivalof psychogeography the last two decades. Ballard, Sinclair, Ackroyd andKeiller contributed in the revival of the psychogeography in an effort todeal with the banalisation of the urban environment. Literature was the

primary tool to accomplish that, and, once again, London was theperfect setting. Along with its revival , they also brought back some of

the ideas and ambitions that were expressed earlier by the groupsassociated with psychogeography, which were either adapted andchanged to fit the new reality, or were used as a reminder of the

historical past of the city. The way we studied the effect that the urbanenvironment had on the human behaviour was enriched, and at thesame time there were cases where a new elements of the modernenvironment were included in the equation.

One excellent example of adaptation of the psychogeographicalprinciples to modernity is J.G. Ballard, who, in his book 'Crash', talksabout technology and the side effects of automobile transportation tothe act of wandering. In this case, his work has been called ambiguous,

mostly because he seems to have an positive attitude to the car, despitehis objection towards technology. This new freedom, that the carprovides, is celebrated by Ballard, as it provides a new mean oftranscending our surroundings. He also tried to capture the relationshipbetween human behaviour and new surroundings, and explained thepossible reasons behind the loss of connection between them.Contrasting the Situationists, Ballard does not see any 'banalisation' inthe urban environment. On the contrary, he sees an extremeatmosphere accompanied by violent and sexualised images anddescribes these possible effects on the human behaviour as ' full-scaledescent into savagery, sexual perversity and the complete breakdownof the idea of community'14. As a result of that, he ends up rejecting thecity of London as its heritage and history don't allow people to ' what'sreally going on in life today'.

14Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p117


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If Ballard succeeded in providing complexity and controversy to the

field of psychogeography, Ian Sinclair was the person responsible formaking it popular. Although he adopted some situationist ideas, he

decided to follow a more surrealist and traditional approach topsychogeography. In his work he attempted to blend the occult with thepolitical, the hidden with the neglected and local with literary history,resulting in the creation a new personal vision of London.

'I like their notion of finding a strange parks at the edge of the city, of

creating a walk that would allow you to enter into fiction'15

It is also essential to mention his rejection of the flaneur, as heintroduces us to the 'stalker'.

" Stalker is a stroller who sweats, a stroller who knows where he isgoing, but not why or how"16

There are no more random walks without a known destination. He is no

stranger to this environment, and is aware of the transformation it hasundergone. One could say that the stalker fits the modern wandererbetter since we live in the age of media and we get bombarded byinformation all the time. This makes the concept of being completelylost within the city quite impossible. We are always aware of where weare thanks to technology.

Peter Ackroyd, even though he didn't consider himself as a

psychogeographer, contributed a new way of experiencing and

understanding the urban environment. Like J.G. Ballard, Ackroydexplores the extreme behavioural impact of the city on people. In orderto do that, he goes back to use a more gothic and dark side of London.He sees the city not as a whole, but as a series of zones and areas thatare connected to events and activities. They will later create ' patterns

of interests and patterns of habitation so that the same kind of activitiesemerge ..'17. These territories become something more than just amachine that produces experiences. Like the detournement, if usedproperly, they can transform people's experience of the city and changetheir perception of these particular places.

15Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p12116Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p12017Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p126


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In an interview with film maker Patrick Keiller, he mentions thatpsychogeography ' has divorced itself from political concerns andobligations of the Situationists'18. Psychogeography in a way has comefull circle . Its practitioners concentrate more on the artistic aspect of it,abandoning its true potential. The following statement that sums upthe unused capabilities of psychogeography today.

'Instead of seeking to change their environment, psychogeographers in

their contemporary incarnation seem satisfied merely to experience and

record it.'19

18Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p13619Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p136


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Gothic

Cultural Linkages: Gothic Literature and British

identity

'The term Gothic has three main connotations: barbarous, like the

Gothic tribes of the Middle Ages- which is what the Renaissance meant

by the word; medieval, with all the associations of castles, knights in

armour and chivalry; and the supernatural, with the associations of the

fearful and the unknown and the mysterious.'20

This definition sums up the word 'Gothic' in a very generic way and itconnects it mainly with fear and tales of terror. The term Gothic horrormay be connected to German Literature but the term Gothic Noveloriginated in England. Although most of the novels explored the humanpsyche in relation to the supernatural, later they also showed atendency to include imagination and feelings which run parallel to theRomantic movement. The narratives and novels that carry the title'gothic' represent and stimulate 'fear, horror, the macabre and thesinister, within the context of a general focus on the emotional ratherthan the rational'21. This preference towards emotions rather than logicis quite important in order to comprehend the relationship betweenBritish identity and Gothic literature.

20Brendan Hennessy, The gothic novel (Longman for the British Council 1978)p32421Goodreads.com, 'Gothic Literature - Chat: Introduction to GOTHIC Literature (showing1-

31of31)', 2015


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Figure 07- Over London by Rail, Gustave Dore, 1872


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During the industrial revolution technology and science dominated

England and changed it. The map of Britain was reformed as the citiesgrew bigger and bigger and the landscape transformed from rural to

industrial. Within a few decades the majority of people moved to thecities in a pursuit of a better life. However the pace of change was sofast that people suffered an 'industrial trauma'. The continuousdevelopment of science and the terrifying expansion of the industrialareas led to a division between the crowd. While most of them werefascinated by this scenario and could only see a bright future whereman is owner of his own destiny, some chose to reject it. The twooppositional groups that are worth mentioning are: the ones who weresceptical about technology and scientific discoveries and people whobecame part of these new megalopolises but had difficulties adapting in

this new scary environment. As a result of this, Gothic was adopted bythe British in an attempt to either warn people about the repercussionsof the situation or provide an series of devices that will help themadjust old traditions to the new place. Medieval principles, then, becamepart of a nostalgia.

'Gothic presents itself as both a modern project that melts and

transforms traditional attachments in favour of new identities and as a

reaffirmation of authentic cultural values culled from the depths of a

presumed communal past'22

' Gothic novels reaffirm authentic cultural values culled from the depths

of a presumed communal past. They do this first by copying the ways of

the past, rather than breaking sharply with it. Further, Gothic novels domore than rehearse the past; they figure that past as a lost Golden Age

that can be recovered.'23

22Toni Wein, British identities, heroic nationalisms, and the gothic novel, 1764-1824 (Palgrave

Macmillan 2002)p423Toni Wein, British identities, heroic nationalisms, and the gothic novel, 1764-1824 (Palgrave

Macmillan 2002)p4


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One of the idealists who did not embrace the success of technological

advances was Mary Shelley who with 'Frankenstein' tried to show thedangerous aspects of this progress. There is a symbolism behind the

portrayal of Viktor Frankenstein as the obsessed scientist who didn'tconsider the consequences of his work. It represents the fear of anuncontrollable science. William Blake shared the same fear in 'TheGhost of a Flea', a painting that was inspired by a drawing of a fleamicroscopically observed. In this example Blake actually uses ascientific theme and makes it mysterious and strange. His quote isrepresentative of his views against the Enlightenment.

'Art is the Tree of Life. Science is the Tree of Death'24

24Laocon: Jehovah & His Two Sons, Satan & Adam. An engraving of Laocon, the well-known

classical sculpture, is surrounded with many short, graffiti-like comments. These two sayings

are in the blank space to the right of the picture. This was Blake's last illuminated work.

Transcribed in William Blake and Edwin John Ell is (ed.), The Poetical Works of William Blake

(1906), Vol. 1,p435.


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Figure 08- The Ghost of a Flea, William Blake, 18191820


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The second explanation for the popularity of the Gothic Novels new

situation that was brought by the industrialization of Britain. Citieswere now attracting thousands of people coming from rural Englandand the new industrial metropolis felt uneasy. There was a lot ofconfusion and fear in this new environment as most people becomestrangers to each other. This led to crimes, violence, tension andpoverty, in other words, the perfect setting for a new form of Literatureto feed from. Gothic narratives actually flourished within this macabrescenery as they managed to sensationalize urban horror by adding

supernatural elements and using the language and imagery of theGothic tradition. These stories included : true crime stories, urbanmyths, and Penny dreadfuls. The Jack the ripper murders were the mostfamous of these crimes and were linked to the pre existing myth of

Spring-heeled Jack. Both cases managed to fuel a series of urbanlegends that haunted the streets of London and later were used as

inspiration for a series of cheap fictional, horror stories that werepublished in parts every week. They were named Penny Dreadfuls andbecame quite popular with the middle class as they were easy to relateto. In a lot of cases they eased up adult anxieties and even boosted adultliteracy.


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Figure 09- A Suspicious Character, Illustrated London News, October 13 1888


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Figure 11- Penny Dreadful Illustrations,


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Figure 12- Rain, Steam and Speed The Great Western Railway, J.M.W. Turner, 1844


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The Macabre

The macabre has been celebrated in London through gothic literatureand art, leading to a successful fusion between fiction and history aspart of the formation of the city's identity. Throughout history, people

were inspired by these visions of a dark and dangerous London to suchan extent, that they tried to reproduce their emotions and feelingsthrough strong narratives and the outcome of this inspiration was thetransformation of the urban setting.

To begin with, it is essential to comprehend the essence of the macabreand what separates it from fear or horror. So instead of starting withthese visual re-enactments of the city it's better to concentrate on the

gothic in general and think about what is it that intrigues us about it. Itcould be thrill of the unknown or a series of experiences that makes usuncomfortable. It's a actually combination of all the aforementioned. Inhis introduction to the history of gothic, Marcman Ellis gives three verystrong examples of the effects of gothic to the human psyche and howthey activate a series of reactions and emotions. Each of these examples

indicates different manifestations of the gothic. He starts with arecorded experience by Barthelemy Faujas and his visit to John Sheldon,a famous surgeon in London. His encounter with a beautiful andcarefully preserved body of a dead woman that the doctor had in one ofhis cabinets triggered a feeling of confusion. A combination of abeautiful but macabre image along with the logical explanation behind

the whole setting, can only be described as a 'disagreeable feeling' byEllis. On the one side there is this 'cool scientific gaze' and on the otherthe 'tender emotions of love', all brought together in an picture of loveand pain. The same 'disagreeable feeling' is identified in his secondexample, which is taken from the book 'The Mysteries of Udolpho'.There is a part from the book, representative of gothic literature , wherethe main character witnesses again an image of horror and dreadtogether with an innocent and instinctive curiosity. This combination ofwonder and terror is a feature of the gothic novel. The last example is apainting by John Henry Fuseli, 'The Nightmare'. Once again, there is amoment of terror and a moment of peace incorporated in the samepicture, haunted by the dark and heavy atmosphere.


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'Gothic is not simply a narrative of terror or a set of properties, but is

also a tone or mood simply that is, in its own way, quite experimental... Itis interested in exploiting emotions, through feelings and thoughts'25

25Markman Ellis, The history of got hic fiction (Edinburgh University Press 2000)p8-9


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Figure 13- Illustration from The Mysteries of U dolpho, 1806


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Figure 14- The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli, 1781


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Gothic Mapping of Victorian London

This section is going to explore how ideas and principles of the gothicwere applied within the city of London, with powerful and creativestorytelling. While in the previous section, the use of images and the

description of horrible and disturbing situations provoked theseconflict of contrasting emotions, here, it is the distortion and alterationof the urban space that's intriguing. The reader experiences thesehorrible places that the protagonists goes through but at the same time,there is a subconscious thirst for more, as his curiosity increases. Thisresulted in the birth of the urban gothic. According to Robert Mighall in' A geography of Victorian gothic fiction' :

'The Urban gothic depicts scenes and places whose very existence mayappear to belong to the regions of romance but instead are found in

Midst of civilisation'26

The dark corners and areas of decay are perfectly shown in some of themost representative pieces of literature in that era. G.W.M.Reynolds, inone of the most famous penny dreadful novels, transforms parts ofLondon in such degree that he makes them unrecognizable. In

Mysteries of London, we get a taste of an uninviting version ofSmithfield Market, where the main character ends up. The descriptionsof his encounter with this area is quite graphic and the use of words like'horrible neighbourhood', ' all dark and pitch' and 'foul and filthy' helpto intensify the atmosphere. Terror is a direct result of experiencing

this threatening and poor environment, 'a place of hideous poverty andfearful crimes', 'a labyrinth' and these type of places became a model toorganise the city, its dark mysteries and secrets. It was an interestingway of representing both architectural and civic fact and a poetizedimage of London, mostly because it was a product of history, experienceand interpretation. Richard Maxwell tried to explain the representationof the 'labyrinth' :

' The widespread tendency to see cities as mazes is a related but more

recent phenomenon, a product, I would guess, of historical memory.

Once Paris and London begin to be modernized - once streets are

widened and straightened to facilitate the circulation of traffic- the

older, usually poorer neighbourhoods exert a new fascination. Here

26Robert Mighall, A geography of Victorian Gothic fiction (Oxford University Press 1999)p30


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there are many narrow, winding alley; here traffic easily gets itself into

knots; here, the visitor who is not native may well be mystified.'27

Charles Dickens used the concept of the labyrinth to describe anotherdangerous environment in Oliver Twist. The area in Rotherhithe, whereRussia and Surrey docks used to be, is depicted as the place where 'thefilthiest, the strangest, the most extraordinary of the many localities,that are hidden in London wholly unknown, even by name, to the greatmass of its inhabitants'. Within this area, a maze is formed out of the 'narrow and muddy streets, thronged by the roughest and the poorest ofwaterside people.'28Washington Irving uses the same method to showhis protagonists journey to the centre of his labyrinth. In Thesketchbook of Geoffrey Canyon the main character, however, it is an'oasis' type of place that he encounters at the end of it. A spot of peaceand safety that he had to find after experiencing 'weary flesh', ' bustlingbusy throngs' and the ' obscure nookes and angles'.

The transformation, from poor and dangerous to dark and horrifying, isnecessary in order to create a degree of distance between reality andfiction. What scares and at the same fascinates people, is theobservation of a place or a situation that should be familiar to thembecause they have been there before, but it's not. The rule of a

disagreeable feeling resurfaces once again. Everything is presented tothem distorted and they find it difficult to accept the reality of the newlocation and it confuses them. This is a method that is applied to bothliterature and art manifestations of the gothic.

It is essential to achieve a contrast of feelings and emotions, for a gothicnovel to be considered successful. Reynolds's strategy to do this was tofollow a certain system of historical distortions. It is by presenting the

two extremes of the socioeconomical situations within the boundariesof the city that he manages to relate the poor to the scary and the rich tothe safe. Middle class is either absent or under presented, and middleclass heroes don't figure prominently in his representations. There is noplace for grey areas, within the story. The light and the pitch black thatwealth and poverty represent contribute to a great effect to thetransformation of the Urban Gothic fiction. He explains :

27Robert Mighall, A geography of Victorian Gothic fiction (Oxford University Press 1999)p32-



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'There are but two words known in the moral alphabet of this great city;

for all virtues are summed up in the one, and all vices in the other: andthese words are: Wealth and poverty.'29

Gothic Fiction is full of cases of symbolism and representation of

socioeconomical values. Poverty and wealth were associated withspecific areas in London, like west end and east end. Gill Davies expandson this by finding references within Bram Stokers Dracula where thisopposition is most notable and adds that while 'the West End was thecentre of the government, wealthy residences and leisure', the East End'was the unknown England. the nether world, outcast London, theabyss'30. London's most familiar and representative parts were beinginvaded by this eastern unknown which in a way represented death anddisease both literary and metaphorically. An excellent example of this,is the geographical placement of Dracula's castle in Purfleet in contrastto the rest of the main characters who are staying west. PlacingDracula's lair east of London actually enhanced his association with theeast end. It became easier to link him to all the immigrants andforeigners, who in a way stood for countries and lands that wereconnected with crimes mysteries and violence.

'West End with its government offices served as a site for imperial

spectacle: during her Golden Jubilee in 1887, Queen Victoria ... was

carted around the major thoroughfares, escorted by an Indian cavalry

troop. Meanwhile, another kind of imperial spectacle was staged in the

East End. The Docks and railway termini of the East End were

international entrerpots for succeeding waves of immigrants, most

recently poor Jews fleeing the pogroms of Eastern Europe'31

29Robert Mighall, A geography of Victorian Gothic fiction (Oxford University Press 1999)p5430Davies G. (2004). London in Dracula; Dracula in London. Literary London: Interdisciplinary

Studies in the Representation of London, Volume 2 Number 1 (March 2004).

Online at: http://www.literarylondon.org/london-journal/march2004/davies.html. Accessed

on 2/1/2015.31Davies G. (2004). London in Dracula; Dracula in London. Literary London: Interdisciplinary

Studies in the Representation of London, Volume 2 Number 1 (March 2004).

Online at: http://www.literarylondon.org/london-journal/march2004/davies.html. Accessed

on 2/1/2015.


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This is even more evident within Dracula, at the point when a west

ender, Jonathan Harker explores Carfax Abbey, Dracula's Lair in theeast:

'The place was small and close, and the long disuse had made the air

stagnant and foul. There was an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma,

which came through the fouler air. But as to the odour itself, how shall I

describe it? It was not alone that it was composed of all the ills of

morality and with the pungent, acrid smell of blood, but it seemed as

through corruption had become itself corrupt.'32



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Figure 16- Map of Dracula in London

Figure 17- Map of Dracula in East End, London,


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Figure 18- Map of Dracula in Piccadily


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The psychogeographical cases of Gothic London

All these notions and ideas of distortion of reality and context, camefrom the authors' own experience. One has to experience, imagine andinterpret first and only then is he able to write and create. Such

experiences inspired a number of authors to create some iconic gothicnovels where psychogeography was used as the main tool to achieve are-imaging of the city. This section is going to have a deep look into howpsychogeographical surveys of London produced gothic fiction. Theneed to explore this relationship becomes vital in order to make theconnection between psychogeography and macabre narratives.

Previous sections have examined how gothic novels were a

manifestation of political and social issues in London. Crime, violence,fear and social degradation became the tool to the alteration of the city.However, there was another highly important part of London's identitythat hasn't been mentioned in this analysis yet and its history. In 'aJournal of the Plague Year', Daniel Defoe manages to transform thefamiliar layout of the city by blending fact and fiction. A fictional

protagonist records his experiences in London during the Black Death.As a theme, the plague belongs to London's darkest parts of history as itwiped out about 15% of its population and provided a great setting andlots of information that was eventually used in the novel. The portrait ofthe city was a result of stories and other historical facts.

'... Defoe's account of the plague year of 1665 gathers the bare statistical

facts. the precise topographical details and the peculiar local

testimonies that were to become the hallmarks of psychogeographical

investigation and presents them in the non-linear and digressive fashion

that was later to characterise the drift of the Derive.'33

33Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p36


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London became a place that was slowly being swallowed by decay anddeath. Navigation within such an obscure and chaotic place was verydifficult. Unlike the Derive where the explorer takes these random driftsthrough the city out of curiosity, here it's not his choice. He finds hisway by instinct and fear.

' Navigating this urban space in the 1660's could be tricky, both

physically and conceptually. There were no maps for ordinary people to

guide them through the city. You made your way by sight, by memory, by

advice, by direction and by luck'34

Coverley also adds:

' Only by re-learning the signs as they were rapidly deformed and

distorted by the passage of death and disease could Defoe's narrator

hope to survive the onslaught. Defoe reveals a 'sense of a haunted

geography' through which the progress of the plague is meticulously

documented'35

Although Defoe's novel was considered the first piece of literature that

contained a psychogeographical survey of London, it was Robert LouisStevenson who was hailed as the 'first psychogeographer' thanks to hisnovel 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. Here, Stevensonmanaged to create a nightmarish place that would later provide themost lasting image of the city and set the tradition of London Gothicalong with its most recognizable characteristics, the unreal and eternallandscape.

34Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p3735Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p37-38


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Figure 19- The Black Death


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While in the cases mentioned before, there is a opposition between

areas of London and classes of people, Stevenson's novel uses thedivision between reality and appearance which based on the occult so

that he can 'expose the double life of privilege and despair lie in the cityof the late nineteenth century'36. Just l ike the protagonist's two-sidedpersonality, London seems to have a contradictory personality as well.On the one side there is the dreadful image of the East end, and on theother there is a dreamscape of Victorian facades of the west. The bookwas also linked to the Ripper murders that happened the following yearand gave it an extra-literary existence. Although there is a difference inthe depiction of these areas, what's quite interesting are the similaritiesbetween the city's and Dr Jekyll's deformation. In the book, there is astrong example of a place's visual alteration just in front of the reader's

eyes.

'... for here it would be dark like the back-end of evening; and there

would be a glow of rich, lurid brown like the light of some strange

conflagrations; and here, for a moment, the fog would be quite broken

up, and a haggard shaft of daylight would glance between the swirling

wreaths. The dismal quarter of Soho seen under these changing

glimpses, with its muddy ways, and slatternly passengers, and its lamps,

which had never been extinguished or had been kindled afresh to

combat this mournful reinvasion of darkness, seemed, in the lawyer's

eyes, like a district of some city in a nightmare'37

So after the transformation, the reader witnesses an new, more savageand primitive person, and the same thing happens to London. Mr Hydeis the embodiment of Jekyll's hidden and forbidden desires. Desires andthoughts that were there before but were suppressed under Dr. Jekyll's

consciousness. Only once the criminal is unleashed and the person 'goesnative'38can we observe London's dark side. The symbolism behind thedarkness that is existent and waiting to be unleashed is quite obviousand very relatable to both the Victorian and the modern metropolis. In atheory that may be applicable to cities, as well, Robert Mighall examinesthe protagonist's deformation by saying:

36Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p4537Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p4638Robert Mighall, A geography of Victorian Gothic fiction (Oxford University Press 1999)p139


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' The anthropological lowness of Mr Hyde is the inevitable product of

Jekyll's externalization of hierarchical structures according to thespecification of psychiatry and criminology'39

This explains to a great degree the need to explore the macabre aspectof our urban surroundings. Just like Mr Hyde, it's part of London'ssuppressed legacy and identity that no matter how disgusted orashamed we are by it, we can't get rid of it. So, the resurface of the city'sdarkest history becomes inevitable and the fact that Britain at somepoint was able to embrace it and appreciate it, shows that it is a strategythat can be used even today.



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Conclusion

The strategy behind the dissertation was to understand the terms, the

philosophical ideas and ambitions behind Gothic Literature and

Psychogeography in order to extract a method that could be applied on

London today to bring back the appreciation for the macabre which has

been lost. Gothic and psychogeography had to be examined so that there

would be an understanding of the history and the reasons behind its

acceptance, compared to modern literature and perhaps help us look into

the right direction to its revival. There is still potential for Gothic narratives

to resurface and become once again part of London's history and identity.

The fact that they fed from fear and social anxiety of the middle class,

indicates that there are still the right circumstances for it to flourish.

One of the reasons behind our failure to embrace the hidden and the

undesired, comes from our inability to experience space the way we used

to. The city and its architecture do not interact with our senses the same

way they used to. We may blame technology but it is vital to understand

that architecture is capable of reactivating those senses which, along with

memory, can bring back that long lost desire for the unexplained, the

bizarre and the forbidden, only if it starts interacting with all our five

senses, our body and our subconscious. According to Juhani Pallasmaa,

Every touching experience of architecture is multisensory; qualities ofspace, matter and scale are measured equally by the eye, ear, nose, skin,

tongue, skeleton and muscle... architecture involves several realms of

sensory experience which interact and fuse with each other. 40

Once that level of interaction between the person and his surroundings is

achieved, he will be able to experience more than what his vision allows

him to. He will be intrigued by the darker aspect of the city, the unknown

and the macabre. People have to be aware of the darkness to be able to

appreciate it.

40Juhani Pallasmaa, The eyes of the skin(Wiley-Academy 2005)p41


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Deep shadows are essential, because they dim the sharpness of the vision,

make depth and invite unconscious peripheral vision and tactile fantasy .41

These type of experiences leave an imprint on our memories and become

forever associated with the city and its identity. The same way that

memory can ' re-evoke the delightful city with all its sounds and smells and

variations of light and shade' 42it can also bring back the city of the

macabre, the horror and awe.

It may not be realistic to change the city to accommodate such

transformation at once, but it is possible to use architecture as a tool to

trigger senses, emotions and feelings. An urban architecture that will

operate based on Peter Ackroyd's theory of a city of zones and areas that

create patterns of activity and ambiance. When the situationists demanded

a quality of architecture that went beyond the habitation and based on Le

Corbusier's unit d'Habitation , they sought for the unit dmbiance, which

was an area of particular intense urban atmosphere. Such areas are the

best candidates for an architectural intervention, that will attempt to bring

back London's Gothic identity, especially when they have a historical

connection with the macabre. It is possible to identify such regions within

London by applying Debord's method of mapping units of habitation in

Paris with the Naked City in three steps:

41Juhani Pallasmaa, The eyes of the skin (Wiley-Academy 2005)p4642Juhani Pallasmaa, The eyes of the skin (Wiley-Academy 2005)p70


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1. Locate areas in Victorian London, so that we get an understanding of

what is a unit of macabre ambiance. Figure 20 shows where these areas

are, based on references from Gothic Literature like Dracula, Mysteries of

London, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Oliver Twist.

Figure 20- Gothic Literature and London map


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2.Locate areas of Modern London where similar type of dangerous

situations and encounters may happen. The map on Figure 16 indicates

regions of the city with the most criminal activity and is based on

Information from London metropolitan Police.

Figure 21- Crime Mapping in London


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3. Merge information acquired from previous maps to inform of

contemporary units of ambiance, that contain both historical background

associated with the macabre, but at the same time, has the potential to

provide London a new Gothic identity.

Figure 22- Unite dmbiance in London


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It is within these such Districts that architecture can contribute to the re-

appreciation of the macabre. People, who walk these streets, experience,

see and hear stories every day but they do not get the chance to record or

express any of those feelings and emotions that reveal the dreadful aspect

of their neighbourhood. That's where psychogeography and architecture

will intervene and create an interactive chain that will contribute to

London's Gothic identity. It is important to provide a centre where, with

the help of psychogeographical methods, urban wanderers will manifest

their experiences and memories into art and literature, just like Stevensonor Dickens. A place where people will learn, produce and exhibit their work

that will operate at the same time as a monument of the Macabre and a

reminder that it is still part of London.

Figure 23- Potential site for an Architectural intervention


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Bibliography

Books

Coverley, Merlin, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials2010).

Mighall, Robert, A geography of Victorian Gothic fiction(Oxford University Press 1999).

Hennessy, Brendan, The gothic novel (Longman for theBritish Council 1978).

Ellis, Markman, The history of gothic fiction(Edinburgh University Press 2000).

Tester, Keith, The Flaneur (Routledge 1994).

Wein, Toni, British identities, heroic nationalisms,and the gothic novel, 1764-1824 (Palgrave Macmillan 2002).

Emsley, Clive, Hard men (Hambledon and London2005).

Pallasmaa, Juhani, The eyes of the skin (Wiley-Academy

2005).Sadler, Simon, The situationist city (MIT Press 1998).


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Websites

http://www.literarylondon.org/london-journal/march2004/davies.html

http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/psychogeography-merlin-coverley/

http://www.cddc.vt.edu/

http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/creating/pages/origins.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-5P4G1L36Y

http://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/people/a.evans/psychogeog.html

http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/ripperoo-spring.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring-heeled_Jack

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_dreadful

http://maps.met.police.uk/


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Sources of Illustration

Cover Image-The Flaneur of London, Edem Makantasis,2014

Figure 01- Map of Victorian London, Edem Makantasis,2014

Figure 02-Strolling in modern London, Edem Makantasis,2014

Figure 03- Psychogeographic guide of Paris, Guy Debord,

1955 Retrieved from:https://mappingweirdstuff.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/debord-guide1.jpg

Figure 04- The Naked City, Guy Debord, 1957Retrieved from: http://www.laciudadviva.org/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/the-naked-city-1957-guy-debord.jpg

Figure 05- Le Flneur, Paul Gavarni, 1842.

Retrieved from:

http://f1.bcbits.com/img/a1685681063_10.jpg

Figure 06- The Labyrinth of Rotherhithe, Edem Makantasis,

2014

Figure 07- Over London by Rail, Gustave Dore, 1872Retrieved from: http://www.magazindomov.ru/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Archway-Studios-11.jpg

Figure 08- The Ghost of a Flea, William Blake, 18191820Retrieved from:

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-the-ghost-of-a-flea-n05889


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Figure 09- A Suspicious Character, Illustrated London News,October 13 1888

Retrieved from:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/JacktheRipper1888.jpg


Retrieved from: http://hidden-highgate.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/springheeled-jack.jpg

Figure 11- Penny Dreadful Illustrations,Retrieved from:https://horrorpediadotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/jacktodd.jpg

Figure 12- Rain, Steam and Speed The Great WesternRailway, J.M.W. Turner, 1844 Retrieved from:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Turner_-_Rain,_Steam_and_Speed_-_National_Gallery_file.jpg

Figure 13- Illustration from The Mysteries of Udolpho, 1806

Retrieved from: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3YUEhf7hQ6s/Up86ijlCnnI/AAAAAAAAEGQ/BNjdLKuRt7I/s1600/Udolpho+-+the+ideal+beginning+-+from+1806+version+vol+3.jpg

Figure 14- The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli, 1781Retrieved from:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/John_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_Nightmare.JPG


Retrieved from: http://www.history-in-pictures.co.uk/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=8471


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Figure 16- Map of Dracula in LondonRetrieved from: http://www.literarylondon.org/london-journal/march2004/location.htm

Figure 17- Map of Dracula in East End, London,Retrieved from: http://www.literarylondon.org/london-journal/march2004/eastend.htm

Figure 18- Map of Dracula in PiccadilyRetrieved from: http://www.literarylondon.org/london-

journal/march2004/piccadilly.htm

Figure 19- The Black DeathRetrieved from:http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9089048.ece/binary/original/black-death-ala.jpg

Figure 20- Gothic Literature and London map, Edem Makantasis,2014

Figure 21- Crime Mapping in London, Edem Makantasis, 2014

Figure 22- Unite dmbiance in London, Edem Makantasis, 2014

Figure 23- Potential site for an Architectural intervention, EdemMakantasis, 2014


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Psychogeography and the Macabre

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