The Castle of Otranto

                In the spirit of my favourite holiday (Halloween) I decided to read The Castle of Otranto, which is widely considered to be the first gothic novel. It was written in 1764 by Horace Walpole who was the dilettante son of the British Prime Minster Robert Walpole.  Horace Walpole took a keen interest in medieval culture going as far as to claim in the novel’s anonymous first edition that the story was a translation of a newly rediscovered medieval Italian text. Following the success of the first edition Walpole revealed his authorship and the true origin of the story in the second edition. This caused some controversy as critics who had praised the ‘medieval tale’ turned against the text in embarrassment at being caught out by a forgery. The second edition as well as revealing the true origin of the text also set forth Walpole’s artistic agenda: he sought to fuse the old medieval romance, which he saw as fantastical but lacking psychological realism, and the new romance (what we would know today as "the novel"), which he saw as realistic but lacking a sense of the magical.

                The tale is based in medieval statelet of Otranto where Manfred, the local prince is hosting the wedding of his son and heir. Unfortunately the celebrations are cut short when the bridegroom-to-be is crushed by a giant helmet which falls mysteriously from the sky. I quiet enjoyed the sheer randomness of this scene as one of the most terrifying aspects of the supernatural is surely its sheer unpredictability and capaciousness.  This sets in motion a train of sinister and bizarre events which terrifies the family and prompts them to explore the dark secrets of the castle. The loss of his son has a particularly devastating effect on Manfred who is driving insane by grief and as we later discover guilt.

                The novel is a brisk and enjoyable read which has scenes that are rich in terror and suspense, however it can be uneven in places. The horror elements of the novel are strongest in the beginning and end while the middle seems to be more characteristic of a medieval romance. Granted the middle of the novel also upholds a sense of mystery but a palatable sense of fear is not as strongly felt.  The medieval romance influence is particularly strong in the novel; we have such motifs as the fair unknown, damsels in distress and a trial of combat. I am not sure if Walpole achieved his aim of fusing medieval fantasy with the psychological realism of eighteenth century novels.  The principle male characters do seem to have some degree of realism, even Manfred who falls deeper into insanity throughout the novel displays a certain twisted logic in his actions. However the female characters are a serious flaw in the work: they are not believable characters. There are depicted as perfect wives and daughters who only care about the wellbeing of the story’s males and this constant selflessness makes the characters completely unbelievable and unsympathetic.  I am aware that Walpole was relying heavily on medieval tales which had a rather exalted view of aristocratic ladies, however the ladies in medieval romances were often much more complex and interesting than the characters which Walpole presents in his tale.  

                In summary The Castle of Otranto is a well paced and enjoyable novel which skilfully drip feeds the reader information in order to keep him/her invested in story. There are moments of true fear in the novel and the story’s constant twists and turns guarantee that it stays an interesting read throughout. Walpole’s endeavour to create a medieval romance in the eighteenth century is somewhat successful as his story does competently execute various romance tropes however it never truly recreates the feel of a medieval romance. While Walpole does not perfectly emulate the old style he creates something brand new: the gothic novel. This new genre would go on to have a profound impact on the literature of the eighteenth century and beyond.

Woman dies in Irish Hospital after been refused an abortion

     A thirty one year old dentist died at University Hospital Galway in Ireland on 28 of October after being refused an abortion.  To begin, I think it would be prudent to explain the situation in Ireland with regard to abortion. Abortions are constitutionally forbidden in Ireland since the Eight amendment was passed in a bitter and divisive referendum in 1982. In 1992 the abortion debate once again came to the fore when the Supreme Court ruled in Attorney General v. X (commonly known as the X case) that abortion was permissible when the life of the mother was in danger either medically or through the risk of suicide. This opened up the flood gates for another acrimonious debate. The government put forward a raft of amendments before the people in 1992 in response to this judgement. Its first proposal the Twelfth Amendment which would have prevented the risk of suicide for being a lawful reason for having an abortion; this amendment failed. The other amendments which accompanied the Twelfth amendment were passed. The Thirteenth amendment guaranteed that the state’s prohibition of abortion would not affect a woman’s freedom to travel; this effectively made it possible for women to have abortions abroad without fear of prosecution. The Fourteen Amendment guaranteed that women would be allowed to procure information about abortion services in foreign countries without fear of prosecution.  In 2002 the Twenty-fifth Amendment was put forward which like the Twelfth tried to remove suicide as an acceptable reason to have an abortion in the state, however like the Twelfth amendment it was rejected by the people.

Since 1992 successive governments have failed to pass a law regulating for abortion in the circumstances where a woman’s life is at risk. This means while technically such abortions are legal doctors have no clear framework to work on i.e. at which point is a women’s life sufficiently at risk to allow an abortion? This was brought to the fore in 2010 when the European Court of Human rights ruled on A, B and C Vs Ireland. Most of the plaintiffs’ pleas were rejected but the Court found that Ireland’s failure to put forward a regulatory framework in line the X case violated C’s rights. C had a cancer which was in remission and she unintentionally fell pregnant.  Unsure about the risks to her health she procured an abortion in the UK , which was incompletely performed and she suffered infection as a result. The court found that C’s rights were violated as there was no mechanism at home which could have judged whether she could avail of a legal abortion.  Ireland has significantly modernized since the passing of the Twelfth Amendment in 1982, both divorce and contraception has been legalized. The power of the Catholic Church has been severely reduced for a variety of reasons the top three been: Irish Catholics are much more inclined to ignore the hierarchy than before, a long string of sexual abuse scandals have  reduced the power of the Catholic Church and Ireland has become much more ethically and religiously diverse. Despite these changes abortion is still a hot button issue and most political parties are internally divided on the issue. In 2011 a coalition of the centre-right Fine Gael Party and the centre-left Labour (the smaller of the two) came to power and promised to legislate for the X case. In February 2012  pro-choice MP  Clare Daly of the United Left Alliance (which is an a coalition of a variety of small hard left parties and independents) put forward legislation  for regulating abortion before the Dáil (the Irish lower house). This bill was defeated by the government who had appointed their own panel of experts to recommend legislation. Despite the government’s commitments to put forward regulations there are rumblings among some Fine Gael and Labour MPs and Senators that they might resist such moves.

                It was in this context that this tragedy took place. The woman, Savita Halappanavar (31) a native of India, was admitted to hospital on the 28^th complaining of back pain. According to the national broadcaster,RTÉ,  she was told nothing was wrong but a couple of hours later she was readmitted as she was not feeling well. It was discovered she was suffering a miscarriage. She was informed that miscarriage would be over in a number of hours instead it continued for three days.  The Irish Times conducted an interview with Mrs Halappanavar’s husband she asked for an abortion on Monday.  However on Tuesday morning the medic told her they would not do so because the foetus still had a heartbeat and that Ireland was ‘a Catholic country’ (a controversial point as all reference to the Catholic Church was removed from the Constitution in 1973). This must particularly offensive to the Mrs Halappanavar who was a Hindu.  On Tuesday her condition worsened with the onset of shivering and vomiting. On Wednesday the foetal heartbeat ceased at which point surgery was performed.  She was removed to a high intensity unit and died on Sunday the twenty-eight. According to the Irish Times report an autopsy delivered two days later she died of septicaemia and E.coli ESBL. Mrs Hallappanavar’s body was reposed in Galway and then returned to her native India.  The Irish Independent  reported the Mrs Halappanavar’s family is planning to sue the hospital for not terminating the pregnancy and thereby endangering her life.  

                Despite her death on the 28^th of October the issue only made headlines late on the 13^th of November.  Once the story broke it made the front-page in Ireland’s three major broadsheets the Irish Times, Irish Examiner and Irish Independent. The story was also carried on the British news sources such as the BBC website, the Guardian, and  on the Independent’s news site. The Irish social media has gone into overdrive over the story with #Savita and #RIPSavita being the most popular hashtags. They are closely followed by  #Dail and #Dáil which refer to a planned protest outside the Irish Houses of Parliament in protest over Mrs Halappanavar’s death. While on the political discussion site politics.ie burst into acrimonious bickering between pro-life and pro-choice posters on the topic which went on for multiple pages until the mods were forced to temporally suspend the thread in order to review ‘potentially problematic posts’ in order words posts which were overly abusive or which were libellous (the thread was restored at 5.40 GMT). Facebook was also of angry messages giving out about the hospital and Irish abortion laws.

                As was to be expected a large number of politicians gave their opinion on the case. According to Evening Herald Clare Daly of the ULA demanded ‘immediate action’. The independent broadcaster TV3 reported that the Minister of Health called Mrs Halappanavar’s death a tragedy, he commiserated with her family and ordered the Health Service Executive to draw up a report on the case but he added it would be inappropriate to make more comments until such a report was finalized.  The Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Enda Kenny, also referred to her death as a tragedy, when asked on whether an independent inquiry was to be considered he commented that while he is not rule anything out there were already two inquiries been pursued.on her death and he revealed that the report by the expert panel on the X case was given to the minister of health the previous day. Ivana Bacik the leader of the Labour Party in the Senate and a prominent pro-choice campaigner said the government should put in place regulations in line with X case immediately. This was echoed on the Campaign for Labour Policy’s website. This organisation is a pressure group of grassroot Labour supporters unhappy with Labour’s performance in the government coalition and which wants to see Labour pursue more left wing policies. However like other political parties Labour is divided on the issue. TV3 reported that Bacik’s senate colleague John Whelan condemned her remarks and declared his pro-life credentials, while Fine Gael MP James Bannon declared that he would not support such legislation. According RTÉ seven MPs brought up the issue in the Dáil. The opposition Sinn Féin party said that Government should introduce regulation in line with the X case as promptly as possible. The other main opposition party Fianna Fáil called for an independent inquiry. While in the Senate Ronan Mullins who is a socially conservative Catholic commented that people where jumping to conclusions and that people should not use the death to further their agendas. On RTÉ News legal and medical professionals called on the government to legislate regulations on line with the X case. As it stands it is unclear what exactly constitutes a threat to a woman’s life and indeed the question was raised that is unclear at which point the risk to Mrs Halappanavar’s emerge.

                As well as the HSE report the Irish Independent reported that Galway Roscommon University Group (which administers Galway University Hospital) is also undertaking its own review. It also quoted a statement from the hospital:

“Galway Roscommon University Hospitals Group (GRUHG) co-operates fully with coroners’ inquests. In general, in the case of a maternal death, a number of procedures are followed, including a risk review of the case and the completion of a maternal death notification form.

“External experts are involved in the review and the family of the deceased are consulted on the terms of reference, are interviewed by the review team and given a copy of the final report.”

Whether this issue represents a watershed on the Irish abortion debate is hard to tell, what is to be guaranteed is that an extra element of emotion to an already contentious debate. Hopefully it will wake up some people to why such legislation is needed. Both those in Fine Gael and Labour have to stay the course and stare down the pro-life dissenters in their ranks. If needs be they may have to move across the aisle and secure the support of members of the opposition parties to secure the votes they need.

                The Abbey Theatre came down to the backwoods of Kerry two weeks ago to showcase Seán O’Casey’s tragicomedic masterpiece The Plough and the Stars in Siamsa Tíre Theatre. I first became aware of Seán O’Casey while doing a module on radical Irish politics in university. I thought he was an engaging character and I made him the subject of my BA history mini-thesis and for this reason I was particularly interested in seeing a production of one his plays when the opportunity presented itself.

                The Plough and the Stars focuses on the lives of a Dublin working class community caught in the middle of 1916 Rising. Instead of eulogizing the rebels of 1916, O’Casey focused on the devastating effect the Rising had on the city’s poor, who become fearful spectators in their own homes as the Dublin streets turn into a battlefield. O’Casey depicts the Dublin working class as victims of two wars: the First World War and the 1916 Rising. The working class soldiers in both conflicts are shown to be victims of the machinations of men who do not care about the lives of their subordiantes. This point is underlined when a British Tommy comes into Mrs Gogan’s home in search of some rebels. The Tommy gets into a dispute with the Young Covey, an enthusiastic communist, who argues that the working class soldiers should not have fired on the rebels or taken part in the First World War. The Tommy responds that he is also a socialist but he insists that a man must also defend his country. Here we see the great internationalist disappointment that was the First World War; many socialists on the eve of the Great War held out hope that the workers would ignore their master’s appeals to nationalism and refuse to fight. In this scene the Rising is shown to be a repeat of the tragedy of 1914, where working men are made to fight for the benefit of their ‘betters’. The men who fight are not the only ones affected by the tragedy of war, we see how their families at home also suffer: both Nora Clitheroe (whose husband takes part in the Rising) and Mrs Gogan (whose unionist son joined the army at the start of World War I) are at breaking point because of the fear that their family members will be killed in battle. In the face of this slaughter O’Casey states that the working class must forget their differences and instead rely on each other in a spirit of solidarity because the bourgeois cannot be depended on to look after their interests.

                The set design in the play is highly impressive and effectively conjures up an image of the tenements in early twentieth century Dublin. The most interesting set design was the one which was used in the street scenes.  In these scenes a tenement building is represented by a back drop which has a huge period photo of an actual Dublin slum printed on the cloth.  The backdrop has a rectangular piece cut out where a tenement window should have been and this allowed the characters ‘inside’ the building to look out the ‘window’ and interact with the characters below on the street. I also liked the stage curtain which drawn between the intervals. It was a dirty coffee-stained brown colour and this emphasised the dirt and squalor of the tenements. The indoor scenes also display an impressive degree of stagecraft,the set designer did excellent work in recreating the dire conditions in which the Dublin poor lived. We see the spare and rudimentary conditions which were characteristic of Dublin working class homes.  The choice of wardrobe was also highly impressive. The period costumes where highly detailed and well made especially the various military and quasi-military uniforms which are present throughout the play.

               

                The acting in this production was top notch with special praise due to Kelly Campbell  who played Nora Clitheroe and Joe Hanley who played by Fluther Good.  Campbell displayed quite an impressive range in her depiction of Nora who over the course of the play goes from a stable, dignified and aspiring woman to a crazed wreck. Her descend into madness is the main source of tragedy in the play. Hanley’s depiction of the rogue Fluther elicited some of the strongest laughs from the audience. As the play progresses Fluther displays a stiffer courage than first impressions would suggest.  The fact that Hanley was able to seamlessly change from a clown to a much more serious character is a credit to his acting ability.

                To sum up the Abbey Theatre’s Production of the Plough and the Stars is an excellent adaption. The comedy was well timed and boisterous, while the tragic elements in the play are sombre and sobering.  Despite the plays long length (three hours) the play stays engaging throughout and I would highly recommend me it to anyone who is looking for an enjoyable way to pass the time.

                 

                 There are several different exhibitions in the museum but I will limit this review to examining the newest installment:  Kerry Lives 1950-1973: A Portrait of the County from the Kennelly Archives. The exhibition showcases the photography of Pádraig Kennelly (d May 2011) and his wife Joan (d 2007) who between 1952 and 1973 took almost 600,000 pictures detailing Kerry life. The photos in the exhibition are taken from the Kennelly Archive which was recently digitalized and made available online. In 1974 the couple founded Kerry’s Eye newspaper which today is an institution in the county. The main aim of the exhibition is to document a society which was undergoing a transition. The fifties in Ireland is usually imagined as a dank period both economically and politically: it was situated between the high drama of the early years of the state and the economic growth of the 1960s.  The exhibition acknowledges the harsh economic reality of the time but it tries to show the great social change that also took place during this period. The first piece of the exhibition highlights the theme of change:  it is a piece showing the change in the Irish rural economy between the fifties and the seventies.  During this time the Irish rural economy became less diverse, the amount of dairy cattle and sheep rose while numbers of other animals fell sharply. The amount of farms also fell as smaller farms became uneconomical. The amount of labourers also fell as mechanisation reduced demand for manpower. The exhibition explores the successful campaign by the Irish Country Women’s Association to have indoor piped water installed in homes . The ICA campaigned on this issue because it was traditionally the woman’s role to fetch water and portable water would help ease rural women’s workload. Also on the subject of women’s lives of the fifties the exhibition details how women’s participation in the workforce increased by fifty percent during this period and the number of women in county towns outnumbered the number of men due to inward migration from the country.

                Emigration is a central theme of the exhibition many of the photos are from the Yank’s Balls, which were dances held to entertain emigrants who were visiting home for their holidays. Between 1951 and 1971 Kerry lost 22% of the population to emigration. Personally the most touching photo was that of father and his six sons. The caption below explains that all but one had emigrated either to the UK or the USA due to the lack of opportunity at home. The exhibition’s contains a quote by the Bryan MacMahon, a well known author and teacher,  who in a meeting with the Minister of Education,Richard Mulchay,  declared ‘The inheritors of your revolution, Minister, have been rewarded with squalor’. This denunciation crystallizes fully the economic stagnation and dismay which characterised the period.

The exhibition also shows  pictures of the various industries in Tralee most of whom were set up in the sixties when the government of Seán Lemass adopted a policy of encouraging foreign investment and opening up the Irish economy. Such pictures include that of the Liebherr crane plant in Killarney.

                The exhibition also details school life in Kerry during this period. Many of the photos show the dilapidated nature of many of the schools as well as the poverty of many of its students. A series of photos show pictures from the Tralee’s industrial school. In other to put forward a positive image the pictures showed various happy children, it was only decades later the abuse and torture perpetrated in these schools came to light. The disconnect between the positive façade in the photo and what the dqark life which these children led causes the photos to elicit a melancholy response. Staying on the subject of education the exhibition details how the introduction of free secondary education allowed many children to attend and finish secondary school.

                 The Kennelly exhibition is a hugely enjoyable experience especially for those with an interest in twentieth century Irish history. The exhibition reminded me of a module I took during my undergraduate degree. This module was on the economic history of the independent Irish state and the similarity between this exhibition and that course caused me to reflect on how photos can help a student of history gain a greater understanding of the period he/she is examining. The exhibition also confirmed my impression that history books should include much more photos in order to give the reader a better understanding of the time in question. As tablets slowly make physical books obsolete surely publishers could take advantage of the new medium and provide more photos as  cost of ink and special paper would not be present? Indeed history books in the future could include film reels or video recordings from the time. To sum up the Kennelly exhibition is a thought provoking and engaging exhibition which I highly recommend.

                 

The Campaign

                In an election year marked by an intense media frenzy and almost cartoonish candidates (Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry  etc) it seemed almost inevitable that someone would train a satirical eye on the whole process. The Campaign was writing by Shawn Harwell and Chris Henchy both of whom have collaborated with Will Ferrell previously.  It is directed by Jay Roach who has the Meet the Fockers  and the Austin Powers trilogy on his résumé.

                The film opens with philandering Democrat politician Cam Brady facing an unopposed fifth-term in the House of Representative. The film starts with Cam being prepped on his slogan, ‘America. Jesus. Freedom’. The seasoned politician reveals to his campaign manager, Mitch (Jason Sudeikis), that he has no clue what the three words means and that he merely repeats them at every local event because it keeps the voters happy. This scene underscores the cynical politics which the movie condemns: a politics based on empty and vague slogans, and crass populism. Brady’s comfortable led in the polls is cut after a compromising telephone call to his mistress is exposed. The controversy is a gift to the billionaire Motch brothers who have plans to build factories in North Carolina and import cheap Chinese labour (a concept which they label ‘insourcing’).  Seeing Brady slip in the polls the Motch brothers hatch a plan to enter their own candidate on the Republican ticket who would facilitate their plans. Their candidate of choice is Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) who is the simple and good hearted son of an associate. The Motch brothers choice seems to be build on the assumption that the naive Huggins can be easily manipulated.  Cam responds to this threat to his seat by by launching a smear campaign against his Marty.  Marty reciprocates these tactics under the tutelage of the Motch brothers’ master spin-doctor  Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott).  This begins a series of tit-for-tat pranks which quickly escalate in terms of outrageousness as is to be expected in a Will Fallel vehicle.

                Political satire is of course plentiful in this film. The parody varies in quality from the clever to the ham-fisted. Cam Brady seems to be based on the disgraced North Carolinian politician John Edwards whose rising star was brought low because of an extra martial affair and financial irregularities.  Cam also bears a resemblance to the broad shouldered and impeccably combed politicians such as Rick Perry and Mitt Romney.  The satire works best when it lampoons the image obsession which exists in American politics. The unfortunate result of this obsession is that the candidates become so staged-managed that true sincerity is impossible. While both major political parties are mentioned the movie is not partisan, the film is not concerned by policy differences between the two parties instead is concerned with the toxic and somewhat bizarre nature of American political culture. The satire falls short in the characterisation of the Motch brothers who are an obvious satire of Koch brothers who have used their vast money to fund conservative political candidates and causes. The Motch brothers are cartoon villains and this prevents them from being compelling characters. However, their presence allows the film to level criticism at the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United Ruling which allowed rich individuals to channel unlimited funds to campaigns through independent political action committees (also known as Super PACs) and thus distort the political system in their favour.

                Both actors are playing variations of the stock characters for which they are famous: Fallel plays a narcissistic, vainglorious man-child, while Galifianakis plays an oddball. Fallel is playing well in his comfort zone and plays his role with expected precession. Galifianakis’ performance represents a slight variation on his oddball theme: in the Hangover and Between Two Ferns webseries his characters elucidated a slightly menacing air however in The Campaign Galifanakis’ character is oddness is due to his kitsch tastes and his camp mannerisms. These traits as well as making Marty Huggins amusing also help endear him to the audience.

                To sum The Campaign  is an funny and enjoyable way to pass eight five minutes at the cinema or to rent for home consumption but I would not recommend buying as it would quickly go stale after repeat views.. 3/5