Crown Prince Analysis

Today in class we analyzed and discussed the Morton and Shaw readings.  These described the life of Franz Joseph, Rudolf (The Crown Prince), Elisabeth, and Mary.  After having completed this readings I learned that Rudolf and his father, Franz Joseph, had an extremely sour relationship.  Franz Joseph viewed his son as a threat to his rule although he was the true heir.  The Emperor therefore gave the Crown Prince titles and responsibilities that were either useless or did not suit him.  An example is that Rudolf was put in charge of the infantry and Rudolf did not enjoy this position of power.  He had extremely differing political views from his father.  Rudolf was more liberal while Franz Joseph was conservative.  The only way that Rudolf was able to express his views to the public was by anonymously submitting political letters to the editor the newspaper, however his father was aware of these happenings.

The constant disagreements between Rudolf and Franz Joseph along with Rudolf feeling useless eventually reached its boiling point with Rudolf's suicide.  His body was discovered along with Mary's body in a room in Rudolf's hunting lodge.  This discovery caused the Empire to go into a frenzy because it was apparent that Rudolf had murdered Mary and then consequently killed himself.  Their deaths were extremely controversial because the son of the Emperor could not be seen as a killer, and if his death was officially ruled as a suicide he would not be able to be buried in the Catholic Church.  Franz Joseph solved these problems within the Empire by having the Pope sign off that Rudolf was in a wrong mental state in order for him to be buried in the Catholic Church.  Franz Joseph then took care of Mary's body by transporting her to holy ground for her burial by propping her up in a coach instead of her travelling in a hearse in order to erase her body from public view.  The Empire truly shocks me with how they cheat around all things taboo or disgraceful, even if they must cheat around family relationships and death.

Kafka Modernizing the Traditional Gothic

In class today we analyzed two of Kafka's greatest works, "The Judgement" and "The Castle".  Kafka takes the traditional gothic themes of imprisonment and rebellion and modernizes them.  In "The Judgement" Kafka writes about a father and son in distress, and then son represents a rebel while his father represents the empire.  The son wishes to get married and leave home, which is comparable to leaving the empire, and his father becomes upset and causes an argument to begin.  The father ultimately condemns his son to death by drowning because his son desired to abandon the 'empire'.  The theme of gothic rebellion is present in "The Judgement".  In "The Castle" Kafka writes about a man arriving at a castle in order to find a place to sleep.  This man encounters many officials within the castle and is unsuccessful in acquiring a permit which would enable him to sleep there.  His inability to do this is representative of the empire's control over one's actions.  The man is also imprisoned by the empire because he is not only incapable of getting a permit, he is also not able to enter into the castle himself.  The empire has made him its prisoner because of these things.

Experiential Blog 2

After having been in Harlaxton and Grantham for a few days I have been surprised on multiple occasions by the landscape, history, and qualities of the town.  Harlaxton surprised me with its beauty which I found in the gardens and different rooms throughout the mansion.  I was also surprised by the amount of history on the property.  Grantham is smaller than I had expected, however I have used the railway to my advantage and I have visited local charming pubs.  Dealing with novelty here is very different than how I would deal with novelty at home.  I feel as though I am more polite here because I do not truly know the customary reactions to new and or unusual circumstances, food, or policies that I have come to notice while abroad.  I also am more interested in truly focusing on and appreciating the changes in scenery that I have experienced here.

Gothic Heroine - Empress Sisi

Empress Sisi embodied the characteristics of a gothic heroine throughout her life in many different ways.  She lived a life of imprisonment within the nobility and this prevented her from expressing her heritage, interests, and desires.  Empress Sisi was bound by the empire to act according to their standards and she was not able to enjoy the pleasures in life such as taking care of her animals, walking, and being a mother.  Her daughter died as an infant and her son grew up to be a man but committed suicide with his lover.  The deaths of her children destroyed her life and were one of the causes of her spiral into a deep depression.  Empress Sisi dealt with extreme nostalgia as well as mental instability and a constant fear of the empire and her royal life.  She constantly yearned for an imagined better quality of life which she was destined to never receive.  Empress Sisi was a gothic heroine due to her reluctant way of complying to the empire's formalities.

Experiential Blog 1

The goals I wish to achieve during this study abroad include going outside of my comfort zone and completely immersing myself in many different cultures.  I wish to not only accept another's culture but I also desire to truly understand their way of life and appreciate their values.  In order to accomplish these goals I must be very mindful of my words and actions in order to respect others.  I must also be open to conversation and new ideas.  By doing this I will be able to learn more about others' ways of life and values.  Immersing myself in different cultures will be a challenge but by achieving these goals I will have learned more about not only others, but myself as well.

Course Content Blog One - Reading Analysis

For the first day of class at Harlaxton Manor I was required to read "Barbara of the House of Grebe" in order to prepare myself for lecture.  The class then spent our time together discussing the definition and applications of gothic themes throughout the world and within this short story.  "Barbara of the House of Grebe" is written about a woman who disobeys her parents by running away and marrying her lover instead of going through with her parents planned wedding for her to a different man.  Barbara's decision to elope is a gothic part of this story because she relies only on her emotions in order to make this impromptu, spontaneous, and impromptu decision.  The decision is also gothic because it is contrasts her parents rational plan for her to marry another man.  While the story begins with the theme of love conquering all reason and ration, their lives become more dark and gothic as time in their marriage goes on.  Barbara's husband must leave for a year to study and she begins to lose feelings for him and becomes more selfish.  As the story continues Barbara finds out that her husband was in a fire that destroys his facial features, and she is so consumed with vanity that she refuses to look at him.  The goth is presented here because an unexpected tragedy continues to weaken her commitment to her husband, and her emotions cause her to destroy order within her marriage.  A gothic topic that was also introduced in class today was that of the sublime, which means vast or inconceivable and overwhelming.  The sublime is present in this story because Barbara's parents as well as any rational person would not be able to comprehend why she would spontaneously decide to elope without reflecting on her decision.

My Belief on Gothic and Empire

My current belief on goths is mostly derived from movies such as the Silence of the Lambs or television shows such as Game of Thrones, however the true roots of goth come from Europe rather than Hollywood.  In my own words, goth can be defined as mysterious, dark, twisted, and fantastical.  Goth is also not only applicable to stories and movies as there are goth structures and buildings throughout the world.  There are Gothic Cathedrals and buildings throughout the world, and when I imagine what these look like I picture flying butreses and gargoyles.  Goth is a term that originated in ancient Europe and has now transposed into modern television, books, movies, and architecture.

My current belief on the Empire is not much.  Many ruling families and organizations overcame others and those revolutions are what shaped Europe into what it is today.  The history of these past rulers define cultural beliefs throughout Europe.  They also are the cause for certain traditions in Europe.  I am excited to learn more about both Goth and the Empire during my time abroad.