Wieland

novel by Brown

Also known as: “Wieland; or, The Transformation”

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In full:: Wieland; or, The Transformation

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Wieland, Gothic novel by Charles Brockden Brown, published in 1798. The story concerns Theodore Wieland, whose father has died by spontaneous combustion, apparently for violating a vow to God. The younger Wieland, also a religious enthusiast seeking direct communication with divinity, misguidedly assumes that a ventriloquist’s utterances are supernatural in origin; driven insane, he acts upon the prompting of this “inner voice” and murders his wife and children. He is eventually driven to kill himself.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.