SillWill Land #9 “Writing under the Influence”

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As I approach the latest edit on my novel, it has struck me that running through it are some of the broad influences of my favourite stories. That’s inevitable, of course but two of my major influences stem from works at opposite sides of the literary spectrum. It makes for some interesting imagery in my opinion. Beyond my interest in mythology, the following books are stories that have made a lasting impact on my literary experience.

This is the book that hooked me on reading as a child. Now, over a hundred years since its original release, I can acknowledge some of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ problematic depiction of native Africans; not to mention the African American character of Esmerelda. However, Tarzan of the Apes has been continually in print since that time and has evolved into a cross-cultural icon. If your only exposure to this character is through the movies the novels will come as an entertaining surprise. The pacing of this book is pure page-turner and ERB skillfully hooks his reader into this ultimate fish-out-of-water tale. It’s that stirring pace that I’ve tried to evoke within my own work, whether in our graphic novels or my novel-in-progress. ERB packs his story with great surprises and interesting characters. I won’t even go into his utterly-cool Mars series.

This cover is by renown comic book artist Neal Adams.

At the opposite end of the literary spectrum is the classic Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. There are many reasons that this novel has endured across centuries. Aside from the beautiful gothic atmosphere and inspiring struggle of its titular heroine, this novel was groundbreaking for its time. Charlotte Bronte (and her sisters Emily and Anne) introduced an interior, emotional life to her characters that had previously never been explored. Whether or not you agree with Jane’s decisions and actions, you can’t help but feel for her and her struggle to assert her self-worth and her demand for respect as a human being. Again, there is some aspects of the story that make you shake your 21st century head, especially in the treatment of the mentally ill, but the themes resonate to this day.

It might be most obvious how the pulp stories of ERB influenced our graphic novel series, The Sorcerer’s Children and The Adventures of Astrodog. However, I like to think some of the emotional depth of the classics like Jane Eyre work their way into the stories as well. These are, of course, only two of the tales that have resonated with me. There are plenty more and don’t even get me started comic books. Or rather, I’ll talk about those later.

As I reveal a little more about the story of my upcoming novel over the next few months, other influences or inspirations may become more obvious. Hopefully, in a good way. What are some of the books or stories that have affected or influenced you? What, perhaps, are some of the books that might be your “guilty pleasure”?

Didn’t I mention something about “Gothic Atmosphere”? A little hint of the mood for my upcoming book. It’s not an exact match for the setting but it’s pretty close.

Photo by Micheal Denning on Unsplash

2 Comments

  1. Malcolm

    Interesting pair of near-polar-opposites there, in terms of composition and intention, but then again, perhaps not? Both authors were interested in creating a story which could engage and hold a reader, although their methods were different.

    With Bronte, dialogue certainly mattered (I know you already know all this, I’m just thinking aloud in print here); it was as core to moving the drama forward as ERB’s sweeping scenes of action and peril. Fates could hinge on an ill-chosen word in Bronte; rarely so, in Burroughs.

    If it’s helpful or intriguing to you, The Castle Of Otranto by Horace Walpole (1764) is widely considered the first gothic novel, and the progenitor of the genre with fused a sort of medieval-flavored setting with notions of fear and terror. I remember that the story itself is short, and its gothic elements are obvious enough that it can occasionally seem like a parody to modern readers, although it was not intended as such. Walpole, apparently, was the one who applied the term “gothic” to the work.

    The Gutenberg Project has the work archived online at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/696/696-h/696-h.htm if you don’t mind perusing it on-screen.

    Lastly, on a lighter note, did you ever see the old SCTV extended skit called “Jane Eyrehead”? Very funny, and completely ridiculous. A lot of fun at poor Charlotte Bronte’s expense. 🙂 It’s on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M9pNqlKSsc with the Jane Eyrehead segment starting at the 9 minute mark.

    • sillwill

      I’ve heard of The Castle of Otranto. It’s one of those stories often cited in commentaries on gothic literature for the reasons you mention. It’s on my “Classics I should Read List”. As a side-note, I once read a report about ERB having a chance to meet Ernes Henningway and another respected author of that time and he refused to speak to them. Not out of a sense of hubris but of a sense they were “real authors” and he was only a pulp writer. If true, I wonder what he might think now, considering Tarzan is such a cultural icon.I have seen and laughed at the SCTV Jane Eyrehead. Like The Castle of Otranto, there are so many melodramatic elements that lend themselves to parody. One of my favourite adaptations of Jane Eyre is the BBC production starring Zeal Clarke and Timothy Dalton.

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