Why Carpenter's Gothic?

              I feel like throughout the entire novel, Carpenter's Gothic held various interpretations on why Gaddis chose to name it the way he did. Before we read the book, I remember when you made us browse the web on the keywords "gothic" and "gothic agriculture", etc. The first search of gothic contained pictures and links that were dark and just very gloomy. I guess in a way, that made us believe that this novel would be something along those lines. As we got further into the book, I think the whole class realized how empty the relationships between the characters seemed. For instance, Liz and her husband, who was very abusive to her Paul; they were just two empty people trying to be full together. For the most part, Liz was the one trying to make it work. We found out eventually how lonely and depressed Liz was with the life she lived. It was just an ongoing theme of depression and pain that I felt for her as I continued to read. It was like Liz was isolated from the world and that's what brought her down. The loneliness and hazy scenes represent the gothic side of the title that Gaddis was trying to portray.