Gothic novel: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 06:56, 9 June 2020

A European Romantic, pseudo-medieval literary genre that took shape in Britain between 1790 and 1830. It is sometimes referred to as Gothic romance. Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto (1765) is considered the first Gothic novel.

The Gothic novel is often set in medieval castles or ruins in the Gothic style, or in monasteries. These buildings are usually equipped with hidden trapdoors and subterranean passages. Many British Gothic novels, such as Anne Radcliffe's Italian (1797), are set in a Mediterranean, Catholic environment. Therefore the Gothic novel is considered an anti-classical genre, as it is opposed to the neo-classical Augustan style. The predominant atmosphere in Gothic novels is one of mystery and terror. It draws on the readers' subconscious fears. Supernatural phenomena such as ghosts can also be found.

In the 18th century the Gothic novel was a very popular genre, especially with female readers, but it was also ridiculed. Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey (1818) is a well-known parody on the Gothic novel.

The Gothic novel had frequent revivals. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) are written in the Gothic tradition but lack the trapping that can be found in earlier Gothic novels.

Sources:

Norton, Peter B.; Esposito, Joseph J.: The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 5, 15th edition, Chicago.

Nowak, Helge: Literature in Britain and Ireland. A History., Thübingen: Francke Verlag, 2010.

Sage, Victor: The Gothick Novel, Casebook Series, London: Macmillan, 1990.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-A European [[Romanticism|Romantic]], pseudo-medieval literary genre that took shape in England between 1790 and 1830. It was "invented" by [[Horace Walpole]], whose ''Castle of Otranto'' (1765) became the epitome of this genre. "The gothic has been associated with with a rebellion against a constraining neoclassical aesthetic ideal of order and unity" (Kilgour).
+A European [[Romanticism|Romantic]], pseudo-medieval literary genre that took shape in Britain between 1790 and 1830. It is sometimes referred to as Gothic romance. [[Horace Walpole]]'s ''[[Castle of Otranto]]'' (1765) is considered the first Gothic novel.
-The action often takes place in and around an old castle and at night; the place involves secret passages, trap doors, secret rooms and dark or hidden staircases. It not only evokes the atmosphere of horror, dread, mystery and suspense, but also portrays the deterioration of its world. The decaying, ruined scenery implies that at one time there was a thriving world. At one time the abbey, castle, or landscape was something treasured and appreciated. Now, all that lasts is the decaying shell of a once thriving dwelling.
+The Gothic novel is often set in medieval castles or ruins in the Gothic style, or in monasteries. These buildings are usually equipped with hidden trapdoors and subterranean passages. Many British Gothic novels, such as [[Anne Radcliffe]]'s ''[[Italian]]'' (1797), are set in a Mediterranean, Catholic environment. Therefore the Gothic novel is considered an anti-classical genre, as it is opposed to the [[Neoclassical|neo-classical]] Augustan style.
+The predominant atmosphere in Gothic novels is one of mystery and terror. It draws on the readers' subconscious fears. Supernatural phenomena such as ghosts can also be found.
-Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events occur in gothic novels, e.g. the appearance of ghosts or giants walking, or inanimate objects coming to life. In some works, the events are ultimately given a natural explanation, while in others the events are truly supernatural. The Gothic Novel also deals with the [[sublime]]. The concept of the sublime became used as a way of talking about the impact of certain dramatic or powerful manifestations of nature (towering mountains, storms, etc) or supernatural phenomena (demons, angels, ghosts).
+In the 18th century the Gothic novel was a very popular genre, especially with female readers, but it was also ridiculed. [[Jane Austen]]'s ''[[Northanger Abbey]]'' (1818) is a well-known parody on the Gothic novel.
-There is always the Gothic hero, the protagonist, who is isolated voluntarily or involuntarily. Then there is the villain, who is the epitome of evil, either by his own fall from grace, or by some implicit malevolence.
+The Gothic novel had frequent revivals. [[Mary Shelley]]'s ''[[Frankenstein]]'' (1818) and [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'' (1897) are written in  the Gothic tradition but lack the trapping that can be found in earlier Gothic novels.
-== Sources ==
+== Sources: ==
-* Kilgour, Maggie: ''The Rise of the Gothic Novel'', London: Routledge, 1995.
+Norton, Peter B.; Esposito, Joseph J.: ''The New Encyclopedia Britannica'', Volume 5, 15th edition, Chicago.
-* http://cai.ucdavis.edu/waters-sites/gothicnovel/155breport.html
-* http://www.virtualsalt.com/gothic.htm
+Nowak, Helge: ''Literature in Britain and Ireland. A History.'', Thübingen: Francke Verlag, 2010.
+Sage, Victor: ''The Gothick Novel'', Casebook Series, London: Macmillan, 1990.