Landscape(s) of Horror – Non-Obvious Contexts. A Few Comments on the Sidelines of the Novel Amanda and Eduard by Sophie Mereau-Brentano

Abstract

The subject of this article is the epistolary novel Amanda and Eduard (1803) by the German writer of the classical-romantic era, Sophie Mereau-Brentano. The starting point for scientific research is the theme of mountain chasm/disintegration, which appears on the margins of the presented world, characteristic of horror literature and somewhat incomparable to the novel's poetics, which is paying homage to sentimental patterns. Analyzing selected descriptions of novel landscapes, the author of the article shows that the discourse of horror is closely intertwined with the character of Amanda. The reference to Eduard Burke and Friedrich Schiller's aesthetic theories makes it possible to conclude that novel horror is a necessary condition for the existence of a discourse of the sublime. This leaking of sentimental narrative patterns simultaneously results in a poetic elevation of the main character.