Dreadful Pleasure

In my class on women in 19th century Gothic literature, we've begun the year by exploring the Gothic, and the general populace's fascination with it. We began by talking about the "contemporary" version of the Gothic novel, the horror movie. I realize this is extreme over-generalization, and I did not completely agree with it either, but I was comforted by the fact that I do not enjoy and have never viewed a horror movie. In fact, the "scariest" movie I've ever seen was "The Day After Tomorrow," until I saw "I Am Legend" under duress. So, I felt safe to say that, though most of mankind may be fascinated by and secretly enjoy the horrors depicted in both Gothic novels and today's horror movies, I was an exception. Then came the comparisons between Gothic subject matter and the fascination most of us have with car wrecks, plane wrecks, and the aftermath of natural disasters. I excused myself from that category by remembering that I just enjoy watching things get smashed, like the dorms that were demolished a few years ago, and that I had no part in the fascination with human suffering.

Tonight ruined that. I live on a rather busy street, and as I was going about such mundane tasks as hanging up my laundry and packing a lunch for tomorrow, I heard a squeal of tires and/or breaks, a screech, a smash, and then a continuous car horn. I looked out my window, saw the wreck that had just occurred, and went running outside and down the street to the crash site. As I sheepishly realized I'd given into my Gothic side, I was surprised to see the crowd of people that had joined me. On both sides of the street, there were upwards of 50 pedestrians, not to mention all the cars that were rubbernecking and the people peeking out of their windows. We, as humans, truly are fascinated with the sublime, with human suffering, with that dreadful pleasure that comes from contemplating something terrible, awe-inspiring, and even repugnant. Perhaps that's the natural man working in us. Perhaps it's a sick and twisted "good Samaritan" instinct. I'll know more by the end of the semester.


By the way, I don't believe anyone was hurt. I know you were wondering. You were also hoping for pictures (if you don't believe me, see above), but you won't get any.