Gothic literature
Gothic literature is a genre that emerged during the Romantic period in the late eighteenth century, characterized by its exploration of darkness, the supernatural, and emotional extremes. It contrasts sharply with the rationality of the Enlightenment by delving into themes of horror, revenge, and the macabre. The genre often features haunted settings, such as decaying castles and gloomy landscapes, which contribute to an atmosphere of suspense and fear. Common elements include virtuous maidens in peril, aristocratic villains, and flawed heroes, alongside supernatural occurrences that provoke anxiety and terror.
Notable authors in this genre include Horace Walpole, who is credited with popularizing Gothic literature, and Mary Shelley, known for her groundbreaking work, *Frankenstein*. Other influential writers include Edgar Allan Poe, whose works intertwine love and death, and Ann Radcliffe, who skillfully blended rational explanations with supernatural elements. Gothic literature also intersects with various subgenres, such as Southern Gothic and Victorian literature, and has influenced numerous works across different forms, including science fiction and horror. The genre remains significant for its ability to evoke fear and challenge societal norms through its complex characters and evocative settings.
Gothic literature
Gothic literature arose during the romantic period in the late eighteenth century. In contrast to the order and gentility of the Enlightenment, gothic literature dwells lovingly in the darkness, embracing the ghastly and ghoulish. These works bring the events in nightmares to readers' waking minds, exploring the unknown. Like other romantics, gothic writers drew from the past and were heavily influenced by medievalism.
Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, and Mary Shelley are among the most well-known authors of the genre.
Common Elements
The gothic plot frequently involves murder, captivity, torture (physical or psychological), and a presence seeking revenge from beyond the grave.
The setting and even architecture are crucial to gothic fiction. Much action takes place in dark and gloomy corridors in equally dreary castles. Often, these structures are deeply decayed. Nighttime excursions in lonely landscapes with threatening shadows contribute to the mood.
A supernatural element, such as a ghost or even a structure that is itself alive in some way, sparks fear in the reader. The apparent presence of some supernatural presence serves to heighten the tension and raise the reader's anxiety.
A virtuous maiden in need of rescue is frequently at the romantic heart of a gothic novel. She is often threatened and fearful of both supernatural forces and a villain; she may be frail or dying. The villain is typically aristocratic, insane, and/or grotesque, sometimes supernaturally so.
Flawed heroes, fervently religious characters, insanity, and foolish servants are also commonly found in gothic novels.
For all their focus on the supernatural and unexplained, many gothic novels are grounded in reality. Authors often reveal the mundane truth behind the cries in the night and creaking stairs. The terror lives in the moments when these things are presented and experienced by the hero or heroine but are as yet unexplained.
Authors
English author and politician Horace Walpole (1717–97) is largely credited with popularizing the gothic style. He patterned his country home, Strawberry Hill, after ornate medieval cathedrals and tombs. Walpole expanded and embellished his modern castle with arches and turrets until it became a showpiece and destination for sightseers. Walpole also wrote what is hailed as the first gothic work, The Castle of Otranto, published in 1764. He added the subtitle A Gothic Story, in which the word gothic refers to something medieval and even barbarous. The short novel is slyly presented as a translation of an ancient text. The Castle of Otranto includes many of the hallmarks of gothic literature, such as a haunted castle, supernatural events, a maiden in harm's way, and an evil villain.
Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823) published The Mysteries of Udolpho in 1794. She took the style further, becoming the most successful and well-known author of gothic novels at the time. The Mysteries of Udolpho features the fictional Italian Castle Udolpho. In all of Radcliffe's works, however, the supernatural and spooky events are explained by rational, if unlikely, circumstances. Her skill as a writer relied on her understanding that the mind generates fear, regardless of the truth of the matter.
English writer Mary Shelley (1797–1851) added a scientific element to her gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein (1818), in which a young scientist stitches together a creature using corpse parts. Frankenstein brings his creation to life, reels in horror at what he has done, and flees from his monster. The motif of conflict with one's shadow or double became a popular gothic theme, as demonstrated in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson.
American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) incorporated elements of horror in his works. Love and death are intimately linked in many of his short stories and poems. His famous poems include "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee" while his many stories include "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and the first detective story, "Murders in the Rue Morgue."
Henry James' (1843–1916) The Turn of the Screw (1898) is a ghost story, though scholars have debated whether the governess at the center of the tale has experienced a haunting or if she is insane. A narrator reads from the account written by the governess, who seeks to protect her young charges from the evil spirits of a former governess and valet.
Subgenres
Elements of other genres are present to varying degrees in gothic literature. Many authors, including Charles Dickens, also included gothic elements in their works. Southern gothic, an American genre devoted to that region, arose during the early twentieth century.
Romance
Most of Radcliffe's gothic novels bore the subtitle A Romance. Romanticism is prevalent in the works of this genre. In keeping with the times, young women—who were frequent readers of novels—were preoccupied with marrying well. Gothic literature presents a number of obstacles to romance.
Victorian
In England during the Victorian period (1837–1901), distinctions of social class severely controlled one's actions. Readers escaped their rigidly structured lives through the chills and thrills of gothic romances. Popular works include Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte, Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) by Oscar Wilde, and The Turn of the Screw (1898) by Henry James.
Science Fiction and Horror
Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are examples of gothic works with strong elements of both science fiction and horror. Many of Poe's works also pull strongly into the realm of horror. Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker is a horror novel with many gothic elements.
Satire
Jane Austen satirized the genre in Northanger Abbey (1817). Her heroine, Catherine Morland, devours gothic novels and imaginatively projects supernatural and villainous elements over her own experiences. Austen was poking fun at the popularity of Radcliffe's dramatic novels, and even mentions two of them by name. The Heroine (1813) by Eaton Stannard Barrett parodies the genre.
Bibliography
"A Brief Overview of Edgar Allan Poe." Students. Poe Museum. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://www.poemuseum.org/students-poe-overview.php>
"The Gothic: Overview." Norton Topics Online. Norton. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/romantic/topic‗2/welcome.htm>
Mullan, John. "The Origins of the Gothic." British Library. British Library Board. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-origins-of-the-gothic>
Oates, Joyce Carol. "American Gothic Tales: Introduction." USF Celestial Timepiece—The Joyce Carol Oates Home Page. U of San Francisco. Feb. 1996. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.usfca.edu/jco/americangothictales/>
Vickery, Amanda. "Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill." Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/feb/20/horace-walpole-strawberry-hill>