Nightmare Abbey - Thomas Love Peacock

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Résumé :
Published in 1818, Peacock?s novella Nightmare Abbey is a gentle satire of the then-popular gothic movement in literature. He pokes fun at the genre?s obsessions and most of the book?s characters are caricatures of well-known personages of the time. Young Scythrop is the only son of Mr. Glowry, living in the semi-ruined Nightmare Abbey on his estate in Lincolnshire. Mr. Glowry, the survivor of a miserable marriage, is addicted to the depressing and the morbid, surrounding himself with servants whose names, such as Raven, Graves and Skellet, reflect his obsessions. His friends, also, are chosen from those who best reflect his misanthropic views. Scythrop himself imagines himself a philosopher with a unique view of the world, and to this end has written a treatise titled ?Philosophical Gas; or, a Project for a General Illumination of the Human Mind.? Only seven copies of this treatise have ever been sold, and Scythrop dreams of being united with one of the buyers. His passions, though, become more earthy when he falls in love both with his cousin Marionetta and then also with a mysterious woman who appears in his apartment and begs him for asylum, thus creating a situation of romantic farce as he tries to decide between the two. These events are interleaved between entertaining discussions among the varied guests at Nightmare Abbey, richly filled with humor, allusions and quotation. Nightmare Abbey is probably Peacock?s most successful work of fiction, and helped establish his position as an important satirist of his times. His satire, though, is light-hearted rather than savage and is directed more at foolish opinions than attacking particular persons.

Sommaire:
Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock is a satirical novel that delves into the themes of romanticism, melancholy, and the absurdities of human nature. Set in a semi-dilapidated mansion on the Lincolnshire coast, the story follows the life of Scythrop Glowry, a young man with a penchant for philosophical musings and grandiose schemes to reform the world. Scythrop, influenced by the romantic ideals of his time, becomes entangled in a series of emotional and intellectual dilemmas, particularly concerning his love life. He is torn between his affection for his lively cousin Marionetta and the expectations of his father, Mr. Glowry, who has arranged a marriage for him with the somber and wealthy Miss Toobad. The novel is populated with a cast of eccentric characters, each embodying different aspects of the romantic and gothic traditions. Mr. Glowry, Scythrop's father, is a man of perpetual gloom, while Mr. Toobad, a Manichaean Millenarian, constantly laments the influence of the devil in the world. The Honourable Mr. Listless, a fashionable but lethargic young man, and Mr. Flosky, a lachrymose literary figure, add to the satirical portrayal of contemporary society. Peacock uses these characters and their interactions to critique the excesses of romanticism and the pretensions of intellectuals. The novel's humor lies in its exaggerated depiction of the characters' melancholic and often absurd behavior, highlighting the disconnect between their lofty ideals and the realities of life. Through witty dialogue and clever narrative, Nightmare Abbey offers a humorous yet insightful commentary on the romantic era's cultural and philosophical trends....