At Crighton Abbey

Would you believe such a jolly bunch of sportsmen
could portend a tragic death in the family?

         For the first Interpretive Problem assignment, I examined the short story At Crighton Abbey, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.  This story tells of the events immediately preceding the untimely demise of Edward Crighton, the last male heir in the long history of a rather unlucky family.  For generations now, the first-born males of the Crighton line have died suddenly just before reaching marriageable age.  Each of these deaths was heralded by the appearance of a spectral hunting party, giving rise to the rumor that there is a curse on the family.  At the beginning of the story, Edward is about to get married, and his parents are biting their nails, hoping that he will survive the remaining few weeks till his wedding, at which point they believe he will be safe from the curse.  Edward,  however, has been left entirely in the dark about the existence of the curse. Given the amount of danger that his parents seem to believe him to be in, it seems odd that they would keep this information from him.  According to a servant who has been with the family for years, Mr. and Mrs. Crighton have avoided explaining the curse to Edward because they did not want to give him cause for worry.  Given, however, that Edward is a robust and somewhat hard-headed young man who doesn't seem like the type to be alarmed by a ghost story, this answer didn't cut it for me.  Is there another reason that Mr. and Mrs. Crighton would hide this information from their son?  If so, what is it?  Or, is it possible that Braddon included this seeming inconsistency in order to work some dramatic irony into her plot?
         In this portion of the project, I will be incorporating details from Braddon's short story with other research on broader themes and tropes within the Gothic genre in order to examine possible explanations for my interpretive problem. 

          When I first started working on the interpretive problem assignment, I tried to consider any possible reasons Mr. and Mrs. Crighton could have for hiding the story of the curse from their son, but struggled to find one that fit the bill. The most plausible answer I could come up with was that the Crightons were afraid that telling Edward about the curse would only provoke him to engage in rash and foolish behavior, in an attempt to prove to them that their belief in the curse was foolish. However, this possibility stands in direct opposition to the explanation given by the servant in the story.  Another possible explanation is that Mr. and Mrs. Crighton did not tell Edward about the curse because they did not want anyone thinking that they were silly or superstitious.  At first, this theory seems to stand up to scrutiny.  After all, the Crightons are prominent members of society in their town, and thus have a vested interest in retaining at least a veneer of wisdom and sensibility.  Such proud and well-to-do gentlefolks would surely hate to be the laughingstock of the neighborhood.  On closer inspection though, this theory begins to unravel.  After all, the Crightons seem genuinely concerned about their son's safety.  They are even ready to bless his marriage to a woman they disapprove of, simply because they feel that it is best to have him safely married as soon as possible.  Since they presumably want what is best for their son, it doesn't make much sense that they would refrain from warning him about the danger he is in, just to save face for themselves should their fears prove unfounded.
         If there is a lack of evidence in the story itself to provide an answer to this question, perhaps we can turn to an examination of the literary techniques Braddon employs.  One of the most noticeable techniques in this story is the dramatic irony.  Since the reader knows about the curse, but Edward does not, Braddon has created a situation in which the reader has a good idea of what is coming next, but the characters involved are painfully oblivious.  This technique can create a good deal of tension and suspense - both of which contribute to the "creepiness factor" of the tale.  Because of its' ability to make a reader's heart race with anticipation, dramatic irony is a technique commonly used in Gothic literature.  Many Gothic stories rely on the reader having some idea of the horrors that await the tragically naive narrator in order to create a gripping and suspenseful tale.  Edgar Allen Poe, arguably the most famous Gothic author, and inventor of the detective story, was a master of dramatic irony.  The fact that Poe' stories are frequently used to introduce high school students to the concept of dramatic irony stands as a testament to the power of that technique.  Considering the prevalence of dramatic irony in this genre, it seems reasonable to posit that Braddon left Edward unaware of the curse in order to utilize this technique.  If her intention in doing so was to create suspense within her story, it certainly worked.