Southern Setting in Southern Gothic
We can't talk about Southern Gothic without talking about the landscape of the South. Plantations, wilderness, small dusty towns, grand old houses—these aren't just nice little decorative touches; they're essential to the Southern Gothic genre.
Southern Gothic writers are obsessed with Southern landscapes and Southern settings because the identity of the South is largely derived from the land. Land, after all, is central to Southern history: during the period of slavery, the wealth of the South came mostly from the cultivation of the land, particularly from the cotton fields. Often, the beauty of the land stands in stark (and ironic) contrast to the violence happening on it and because of it.
Shmoops:
The Southern landscape is brought to life in William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! Here are some quotations reflecting just how important this setting is in the novel.
The setting of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird is the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. Delve into an analysis of this Southern setting here.