Explain how Kafka's writing contributes to your understanding of the Gothic

Kafka had a very dark mind that was disarray and confused, he had many characteristics that a typical Gothic character would have. this was represented really well in the Kafka museum  by the dark lighting and confusing pathways through the museum Kafka contributes to my understand of the Gothic because he created the idea of Kafkaesque in his writing, this is where there is no avail and no ending, solution or climax but the reader feels as though he is getting toward the solution but is almost always let down. This help my understanding because the idea of Kafkaesque is used in many other pieces also. Kafka helped to influence other writing such as Madness of Angles where the character wonders the streets of London endlessly.

Describe the Ossuary of Kutna Hora Explain why it is creepy or sublime

The Ossuary is a church where in the 1800's all the bones that were buried outside the church in a mass grave were removed and moved to the inside of the church and used as decoration. The bones were stacked from the floor to the ceiling and covering the walls. This was because the people that tend to the grounds ran out of room for burials. I found this very creepy because of all the unknown death all the people whose names will never be known. I also found it creepy to find all the bones where you could actually tell how the person died.

Describe Konopisre as a classic Gothic location Explain why it is important

Konopisre is not Gothic architecture but at the same time is a very Gothic location, when I walked into Konopisre the first thing I saw was death in the form of thousands of animals mounted on the walls. The interior was very dark and depressing. This is important because it shows that you don't have to have a Gothic structure to have a Gothic feeling arise. On another note the rest of the house was almost normal aside from the causal pelt here and there. Although the feeling from the hallway is just so overwhelming it makes the rest of the house creepy also.

Describe Sisi Explain how she is a Gothic heroine

Sisi was a young enthusiastic girl who loved the outdoors and riding her horses; she was a free spirit who was entrapped and forced into a life of sadness and captivity after her marriage to Franz. Following her marriage she was unable to ride her horses or continue to be a free spirit like she once was. She had to formalize everything she said and be very formal with everyone she talked to; Sisi was left with nearly no freedom of speech or ability to make decisions on her own. All of these things make Sisi a Gothic heroine because she has been repressed, has a life of sadness and death.

Compare and Contrast Palaces

The Schonbrunn summer palace was very home like without knowing what life was actually like behind the scenes when Franz and Sisi lived there together. Everything in the palace was very simple; Franz's room was quite plain and he was not interested in changing it either. His bed was very basic and so were all of his amenities. On the walls Franz primarily had portraits of this wife Sisi and his family. At the Hofburg palace things worked a bit differently, Hofburg is actually a word for court which can give you an idea of how the Hofburg was more business like. This palace was the main palace and was much more professional than the Schonbrunn. Instead of paintings of the family he had many more paintings of important figures and some of himself. Sisi however was still seen often in paintings at this palace. The main difference between the living quarters of the two palaces is that at the Hofburg palace Franz's and Sisi's room were separated from each other and had separate entrances. In addition to this Sisi's rooms were much smaller than Franz's rooms. Franz also had a bell that he had to ring when he was ready to be entertained by his wife, so he had to have her permission before entering. At the Schonbrunn palace there was one passage that went through all of Franz and Sisi's rooms, so there was much less privacy for Sisi. The Kew palace is very different from the Hofburg and Schonbrunn palaces. The Kew palace was laid out in a very symmetrical way. The palace consisted of three floors: the first floor originally contained the living quarters for George III where he was treated for his mental illness in very obscene ways. the second floor was the living quarters for queen Charlotte and the daughters. This differed from the other palaces as the most of the living quarters were based on one of the floors. The other major difference with Kew palace was the gardens. The Gardens at Hofburg and Schonbrunn were very nice however they consisted of mostly privacy bushes and small plants which granted a small amount of privacy for Sisi. The Kew palace garden was much larger and had a very large variety of plants and gardens from Chinese plants and trees to palm trees and plants from all over the world. The Kew garden provided a lot of privacy for the queen because of its vast amount of land. All of the palaces had their similarities and differences but Kew gardens I believe provided the best environment for the queen to have a life and things to do.

Compare and contrast Cathedrals

During my study abroad I have seem several cathedrals and church gathering areas. The biggest cathedral I have seen to date is st. Stephen in Vienna this is a very Gothic cathedral with it's many very large Gothic spires. and pointy edges. The interior of this building was amazing and is like nothing I have every seen. On each of the interior pillars that stretched from the floor to the ceiling there were small replicas of the st. Stephen with all the details of the church exactly as they were on the outside. this gave the interior of the church a very Gothic feel. st. Vitus in Prague was much like st. Stephen from a Gothic standpoint however it was a much smaller cathedral from the outside, the spire is not nearly as tall, but at the same time the interior of the cathedral is similar in size and architecture. st. George across the street from st. Vitus in Prague was hardly comparable to any of the other cathedrals we have seen rather than having Gothic architecture this cathedral was based on Romanesque architecture which some consider to be totally anti-Gothic with its well rounded arches and walls this cathedral was much smaller than any of the others and it is also much older dating back to 920. In my opinion this church had a more comfortable atmosphere than the larger cathedrals because it would have been more individualized. The final church I got to have the pleasure of visiting on this trip was st. Wulfrum in Grantham this cathedral was on the line between st. Vitus and st. George as far as the comparison goes. This cathedral had a very Gothic exterior with a very large spire but the interior of the building is similar to st. George however it is not so Romanesque. st. Wulfrum has an interior that points less towards the Gothic because of it's rounded arches and ceilings. I had a wonderful time visiting all these cathedrals and I find it very fascinating to see things that date back hundreds of years before the united states was even colonized.

Freud’s contribution to understanding the Gothic

At the Freud museum I learned that Freud helped us understand the Gothic a bit better by giving us a description of the uncanny, it is the line between reality and fiction when something is close but not exactly right which causes an uncomfortable feeling for the reader. I also learned that in Freud's time showing large amounts of emotion was highly unusual and regarded as Hysteria, this "disease" was primarily diagnosed in higher class women who had the money to see a psychiatrist such as Freud. Freud thought hysteria was caused by an inter conflict between a wish and is repression. With this information I can say that Freud did help the understanding of the Gothic because the uncanny is commonly used as a Gothic concept in many old and modern stories, and Hysteria is the repression of wishes or dreams and anything being repressed will cause a want for rebellion from the normal.