The narrator’s obsessive behaviors and irrational anxiety add credence to the idea that it might all be in her head. In this way, “The Gown” participates in the longstanding Gothic trope of the unreliable narrator. It seems factually impossible that the exact same gown should end up in different medical facilities around the country and repeatedly be given to the same patient over a period of many years. Perhaps the most pressing question at the end of the story is whether we should trust the narrator’s version of events. “The Gown” is a study in ambiguity and open-endedness. It’s clear from these numbers that the story will leave you with more questions than answers. The story is quite short, only 34 pages, but at the end Emilie Autumn includes a study guide consisting of 50 discussion questions. As the protagonist ages, she is haunted by the exact same gown, which follows her to every doctor’s visit and hospitalization-recognizable, of course, by that single spot of blood and by other identifying marks that she leaves on it during subsequent encounters. While getting a flu shot, the child accidentally drips blood onto the gown and becomes irrationally consumed with shame and obsessed with hiding the evidence. “The Gown” begins with the nameless narrator at twelve years old, when she has to change into one of those flimsy gowns at the doctor’s office for the very first time. “The Gown” is available now on Amazon as either an ebook or paperback. ( I reviewed the interactive ebook of TAFWVG back in August.) In February, Emilie Autumn surprised her fans by releasing a new short story that presents similar themes. Over the past couple of years, Emilie Autumn revamped and re-released her pseudo-autobiographical novel The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, which combines an account of her experiences in the psychiatric ward of a hospital with a dark tale of her fictional Victorian alter-ego trapped in an abusive asylum. It’s the little things that will drive you mad.… “The Gown” is a brand new short story by musician-cum-author Emilie Autumn that explores the concepts of madness and obsession. TheGothicLibrarian on Folk Horror in Literature.victoriagrimalkin on Folk Horror in Literature.Spencer on Review of Night’s Edge-A Vampire Pandemic.The Quiet Stillness of Empty Houses Review.Review of Book of Night-Crime and Shadow Magic.Review of Night’s Edge-A Vampire Pandemic. PLEASE NOTE: Only the eBook version of this book contains the real-word treasure hunt, "The Quest for the Spoon of the Royals." This paperback version contains illustrations but does not contain the puzzle, as the puzzle requires an internet connection. The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls blurs harsh reality and magical historical fantasy whilst issuing a scathing critique of society's treatment of women and the mental health care industry's treatment of its patients, showing in the process that little has changed throughout the ages. But when Emilie opens her notebook to find a desperate letter from a young woman imprisoned within an insane asylum in Victorian England, and, stranger still, bearing her own name and description, a portal to another world is blasted wide open.Īs these letters from the past continue to appear, Emilie escapes further into this mysterious alternate reality where sisterhoods are formed, romance between female inmates blossoms, striped wallpaper writhes with ghosts, and highly intellectual rats speak the Queen's English.īut is it real? Or is Emilie truly as mad as she is constantly told she is? Sharp grows more predatory by the day, Emilie begins a secret diary to document her terrifying experience, and to maintain her sanity in this environment that could surely drive anyone mad. Sharp, head of the hospital's psychiatry department. Treated as a criminal, heavily medicated, and stripped of all freedoms, Emilie is denied communication with the outside world, and falls prey to the unwelcome attentions of Dr. Upon being discovered, Emilie is revived and immediately incarcerated in a maximum-security psych ward, despite her protestations that she is not crazy, and can provide valid reasons for her actions if someone would only listen. Such is the stark confession launching the harrowing scene that begins The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls as Emilie, a young musician on the verge of a bright career, attempts suicide by overdosing on the antipsychotics prescribed to treat her bipolar disorder. In this gothic bestseller, two young women, living centuries apart, both accused of madness, communicate across time to fight a common enemy.their doctors.
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