Amnesia's Victorian years

[Tommyboypsp]

Hey guys, I haven't been here for a while, what have I missed?

I know this is very far-fetched and it's probably nothing, but I thought it might be worth posting anyway, then I'll have an excuse to come back to this forum

The Victorian era of British history (and that of the British Empire) was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death, on 22 January 1901.
-Wikipedia

The Victorian era lasted from 1837 to 1901.
The first Amnesia game is in 1839 and the second one takes place in 1899.
This is very close to the start and end of the Victorian era.

Do you think this has a meaning? Did the pigs have something to do with the end of the Victorian era, or Alexander with the beginning of it?

I know it's probably nothing but haven't had an Amnesia discussion in a while.

[Daemian]

I think the date they picked, at least for Amnesia TDD, was mainly to get that old ambient/design with no electricity, candles only, weird paintings and all those spooky ingredients. How you call that? retro?

[Zatchie]

If you start searching for connections and similarities you always find them. I just think it's a coincidence. But then again, who knows?

[Ashtoreth]

Amnesia TDD took place in the German kingdom of Prussia, not in the British empire. I'm pretty sure there's no connection between the events in ATDD and the Victorian era.

I think the date they picked, at least for Amnesia TDD, was mainly to get that old ambient/design with no electricity, candles only, weird paintings and all those spooky ingredients. How you call that? retro?

I would call it medieval/gothic. Retro is more contemporary (20th century).

[MrBehemoth]

Daniel is very much a Victorian Englishman, though. His language sees that out, along with his world-view, religion and technological knowledge.

Spoiler below!

"My name is Daniel, I live in London at... at... Mayfair..."

"The faint glow escaped my fingers and began to spark brightly and spirit me away. Unlocking alien memories of spiraling towers, endless deserts, and impossible geometry. The next thing I can remember is the grating sound of stone being lifted. The voices of the Arabs pulling me to safety. And grasped firmly in my hands was the broken pieces of a most peculiar relic."

"You have an "ascending room". Will it take us to the Inner Sanctum?"

"Yes, the Colosseum at Regent's Park has one. It takes you to the gallery where you can view the panorama."

"I knew that it was my purgatory - hellfire made to wash away my sins."

It fits the tradition of gothic horror written in the Victorian era (peppered with a bit of Lovecraft, who emulated and advanced that tradition). Think Dracula (the book) - it has very similar tropes and symbols to TDD. A well-to-do English gentleman finds himself drawn into the old world of eastern Europe, where decay and primitive ways of life symbolise the horror that a "modern" man of the industrial era feels when he faces the supernatural, and behind it all is an evil authority figure who rules part of the ancient eastern world and has designs on the modern western world - a deeply unsettling idea for a Victorian English Christian. He is, after all, from a time and place when the Empire was starting to crumble and religious values were beginning to become irrelevant, which appalls his old fashioned sensibilities and his English conservatism.

I agree with TommyBoyPSP, in as far as there is a literary, symbolic connection. AMFP is opposed to TDD. It strongly emphasises the industrialised setting and the approach of the 20th century, and Mandus's manic attempt to banish the ancient world that so horrified Daniel.

If invited, I will go on about this for hours!

[Tommyboypsp]

"The faint glow escaped my fingers and began to spark brightly and spirit me away. Unlocking alien memories of spiraling towers, endless deserts, and impossible geometry.

This has always been my favourite quote from the game. Very poetic.

I agree with TommyBoyPSP, in as far as there is a literary, symbolic connection. AMFP is opposed to TDD. It strongly emphasises the industrialised setting and the approach of the 20th century, and Mandus's manic attempt to banish the ancient world that so horrified Daniel.

I'm not sure I understand. Do you think FG/TCR intentionally kept both stories within the Victorian era, to show the difference between the start and the end of the era?

[MrBehemoth]

This has always been my favourite quote from the game. Very poetic.

And very Lovecraftian!

Do you think FG/TCR intentionally kept both stories within the Victorian era, to show the difference between the start and the end of the era?

Yes and no. I think both stories are set in the Victorian-based dark fantasy world of gothic horror (think Dracula, Frankenstein, the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Phantom of the Opera etc. etc.).

I don't think FG/TCR were between them trying to compare the start and end of the era, but I do think TCR might have wondered what else they could say about that world and took it in a different direction. Both stories are variations on the gothic horror genre, but AMFP is more influenced other contemporary writing, like Dickens, and by more modern genres too, like psychological horror and futurism.

I don't think the two stories are "about" the beginning and end of he Victorian era. That is, I don't think that there's a secret message that Queen Victoria had an orb and Prince Albert was a torturer from another dimension . ...But they both pay homage to the same literary roots and play on themes and tropes that were common in the writing of that time.

[Tommyboypsp]

Yeah that makes sense. I must admit I haven't read many English books of that time, or English books altogether. Just Treasure Island, and a book about manners and culture of the late Victorian times.

[Alardem]

Apparently Amnesia was meant to take place several centuries earlier than the 1800s. Alexander being an alien from a futuristic world would explain the seemingly inconsistent levels of technology seen throughout the castle.[/align]

Justine is a quick diversion into referencing the works of De Sade, and the themes of class and decadence play a significant role. Justine's suitors come from different classes (Basile is the working class, Alois possibly represents middle-class, and Malo is an artist) while the hostages all represent male figures of authority who threaten the libertine protagonist.

[MrBehemoth]

Apparently Amnesia was meant to take place several centuries earlier than the 1800s. Alexander being an alien from a futuristic world would explain the seemingly inconsistent levels of technology seen throughout the castle.

I don't think that's quite right, Alardem - Brennenburg is several centuries older, and maybe so are some of the documents Daniel finds, but Daniel himself is definitely Victorian. You can tell from his language (if was was from the 1600s he would write and talk very differently) and the fact that he visited the London Colosseum and rode the elevator between 1827 and 1874 proves it.

You're spot on about Justine though.