The Latin word for threshold is Limen, and for this reason we have the adjective 'liminal', which is a key word for the Gothic. A liminal state has been described as a state where identity becomes uncertain, a state of transition or disorientation, where normal boundaries and sensations are dissolved.
In Gothic Literature, the idea of the liminal, and of liminal spaces, is an important one. You only have to think about Gothic texts for a little while to see how important the concept can be. So you might consider how Frankenstein (the scientist, not the creature) breaks boundaries with his research, or how Cathy in Wuthering Heights climbs into windows (and all that symbolises!) or how Dracula creates a sense of the normal boundaries of life and death being shifted and changed, or how the gate of Hell is described in Paradise Lost.
Thresholds mean doors, which may open into experiences, different worlds, for good or bad. Can you think of any other examples of liminal spaces in the texts that we have studied?
Macbeth breaks the boundaries - unnatural deaths, God-like powers and so on.
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Yes, doesn't he talk about boundaries as well? That comment 'I am in blood stepped in so far / That to return were as tedious as go oer' comes to mind, with the idea that he has broken the boundary of what is possible, and so can only go forward rather than return...?
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