Utilisateur:Thrain/Brouillon6

Les Châteaux d'Athlin et Dunbayne.
Page titre de la deuxième édition (1793)
Auteur	Ann Radcliffe
Pays	Royaume-Uni
Genre	Roman gothique
Version originale
Langue	Anglais
Titre	The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne. A Highland Story
Éditeur	Thomas Hookham
Date de parution	1789
Version française
Traducteur	?
Éditeur	?
Nombre de pages	280

Les Châteaux d'Athlin et Dunbayne. Une histoire des Hautes Terres (The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne. A Highland Story) est un roman gothique d'Ann Radcliffe d'abord publié à Londres en 1789 par Thomas Hookham.

Le roman se déroule dans une atmosphère puissante qui réapparait dans les travaux plus tardifs de l'auteur : luttes entre clans et intrigues romantiques mystérieuses qui se jouent sur fond de châteaux médiévaux en ruines et de littoraux déchirés. Chacun des personnages peut être défini par ses obsessions : Osbert, le comte d'Athlin, est animé par son désir de vengeance suite au meurtre de son père par Malcolm, le baron de Dunbayne. Sa sœur, Marie, défaille sans cesse alors qu'elle essaye de résister à son émoi pour Alleyn, un personnage des hautes terres qui n'est pas de sang noble. De la même manière, Alleyn gagne une stature héroïque quand il sauve Marie par amour. Même le vilain, le baron Malcolm, est dominé par son envie de meurtre vis-à-vis d'Osbert ; il sera plus tard dominé par sa passion pour Marie. Bien que les passions des personnages principaux dominent l'intrigue, les châteaux éponymes sont au centre du récit et sont le fondement du caractère gothique du roman.

Synopsis

Le roman raconte l'histoire de deux clans, celui du Château d'Athlin et celui du Château de Dunbayne. Il commence en relatant le meurtre du comte d'Athlin par Malcolm, baron de Dunbayne. Le fils du comte, Osbert, veut venger son père. En dépit des requêtes de sa mère, Matilda, de dominer ses sentiments et d'abandonner sa quête de vengeance, Osbert lance une attaque contre Malcolm avec l'aide d'Alleyn, un paysan vertueux. Alleyn est amoureux de la sœur d'Osbert, Marie, une femme vertueuse et délicate, qu'il souhaite impressionner. Cependant, l'attaque sur le château de Malcolm échoue et Alleyn et Osbert sont tous deux fait prisonniers. Quoi qu'il en soit, Alleyn réussit à s'échapper. L'envie de Malcolm de détruire Osbert est supplantée par son envie de posséder la belle Marie et il envoie des hommes l'enlever. Alleyn, sur le chemin du retour pour Athlin, intervient et, après maints évanouissements de la part de Marie, la sauve. Marie, après avoir recouvré ses esprits, tombe amoureuse d'Alleyn bien qu'ils ne soient pas du même rang. Sa mère l'invite cependant à oublier cet homme. Malcolm, rendu furieux par la fuite d'Alleyn et l'échec de la tentative d'enlèvement, demande une rançon contre la libération d'Osbert : il relâchera le comte seulement s'il peut épouser Marie. Alleyn et Matilda sont terrassés par la nouvelle. Pendant ce temps, Osbert est réconforté par d'autres prisonniers...

The novel tells the story of two clans, those belonging to the Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne. It begins by relating that Malcolm, the Baron of Dunbayne, murdered the Earl of Athlin. The Earl’s son, Osbert, is driven by a passionate desire to avenge his father’s murder. Despite the entreaties of his mother, Matilda, to conquer his passion and abandon his quest of revenge, Osbert launches an attack on Malcolm with the help of Alleyn, a noble and virtuous peasant. Alleyn is in love with Osbert’s sister, Mary, a virtuous and delicate lady whom he desires to impress. The attack on Malcolm’s castle fails, and both Alleyn and Osbert are taken captive as prisoners of war. Alleyn, however, manages to escape. Malcolm’s passion for destroying Osbert is supplanted by a passion to possess the beautiful Mary, and he sends men to kidnap her. Alleyn, on his way back to Athlin, intervenes, and after much fainting on the part of Mary, manages to rescue her. Mary, after recovering from the excessive fainting fits, falls in love with Alleyn, despite their class differences. Upon confiding in her mother however, she is urged to forget her love. Malcolm, angry at Alleyn’s escape and the thwarted attempt to kidnap Mary, demands a ransom for the release of Osbert: he will release the Earl only if he is allowed to marry Mary. Both Alleyn and Matilda are distressed by such news. Osbert, meanwhile, has found comfort in the fellow prisoners of the Baroness Louisa, Malcolm’s sister-in-law by way of his elder (and now deceased) brother, the former Baron, and her daughter Laura. Laura and Osbert fall in love. After many complications, Osbert is able to escape the restraints of Malcolm, whom he eventually challenges. Malcolm is then killed in the ensuing battle. Before he dies, Malcolm confesses to Louisa that her son, whom she had thought dead, was really alive. Malcolm had hidden him away with a peasant family in order to procure the title for himself. Laura and Osbert prepare to wed, but Mary and Alleyn are both unhappy. It is then miraculously discovered the Alleyn is in fact Philip, Louisa’s long-lost son. He is recognized by his mother by a strawberry mark on his skin. This makes Alleyn the rightful Baron of Dunbayne. The novel ends with the double wedding of Laura and Osbert, and Mary and Alleyn.

Main characters

• The Former Earl of Athlin: Murdered before the start of the novel by Malcolm, bequeathing his title to his son, Osbert.

• Matilda: The Countess of Athlin; mother of Mary and Osbert. Matilda devotes her time to the education of her children, especially Mary. She is overcome with grief when Osbert is captured by Malcolm and is unable to decide whether to acquiesce to Malcolm’s ransom request (i.e., Mary) or let her son die. Her character is marked by perfect propriety; she attempts to dissuade Mary against loving Alleyn, as he is of a lower class.

• Osbert, Earl of Athlin: Osbert is the son of Matilda and the murdered Earl, and the brother of Mary. He is torn between filial duty to his father (avenging his death), and filial duty to his mother, who entreats him to stay his passions and abandon his desire for revenge.

• Mary: The delicate, young sister of Osbert. She is clearly educated after the proper fashion of the high-born sentiments. Her fragility is often stressed throughout the novel: numerous times she succumbs to fainting fits and bouts of tears. Despite the stressed importance of propriety, she falls in love with the low-born Alleyn—but she does not go so far as act upon this passion. She suffers the torments of loving a man to whom she cannot possibly give herself. This torment is only solved with the miraculous discovery of Alleyn’s true identity.

• Alleyn: A highlander, both “manly” and “virtuous” despite his low birth. He falls in love with the gentle and delicate Mary, and devotes himself to earning her favor. He does so by fighting alongside Osbert, and rescuing both him and Mary from Malcolm‘s cruel ministrations. While he earns the favor and the love of Mary, there is still the problem of his low-birth. It is discovered, however, that he was indeed Philip, the long-lost son of the former Baron of Dunbayne. Therefore this conflict is solved. He assumes the title of Baron and is able wed with Mary.

• Malcolm, Baron of Dunbayne: The novel’s villain who murdered the former Earl and who is set upon destroying Osbert and possessing the delicate Mary. Malcolm was the younger brother of the former Baron, who died and left behind a widow, son, and daughter. In order to secure the title for himself, upon the Baron’s death, Malcolm claimed that his nephew, Philip (AKA Alleyn) had died, when in actuality he had been tossed aside to be raised by a peasant family. He disposed the widow Baroness of her lands, and holds her and her daughter prisoner. He is eventually defeated and slain by Osbert, leaving Alleyn to resume his rightful role as Baron.

• Louisa, the Baroness: The widow of the former Baron of Dunbayne; mother to Laura and Philip (AKA Alleyn). Orientating from Switzerland, she is dispossessed of both her husband’s lands as well as her own by Malcolm. She concerns herself with the education of her daughter, much like Matilda.

• Laura: The daughter of Louisa and the niece of Malcolm, likewise held captive within the castle walls of Dunbayne. When Osbert is also held captive by Malcolm, he hears Laura playing the lute. He is captivated by the sweet melodious tune and it keeps him from committing suicide. Osbert finds comfort in her beauty and feminine charms and succumbs to love. They eventually marry after the defeat of Malcolm.