Elements of the Gothic
1. Setting in a castle.
• The action takes place in and around an old castle, sometimes seemingly
abandoned, sometimes occupied. The castle often contains secret
passages, trap doors, secret rooms, trick panels with hidden levers, dark
or hidden staircases, and possibly ruined sections.
• The castle may be near or connected to caves, which lend their own
haunting flavour with their darkness, uneven floors, branchings,
claustrophobia, and mystery. And in horror-gothic, caves are often seem
home to terrifying creatures such as monsters, or deviant forms of
humans: vampires, zombies, wolfmen.
• Translated into modern filmmaking, the setting might be in an old house
or mansion--or even a new house--where unusual camera angles,
sustained close ups during movement, and darkness or shadows create
the same sense of claustrophobia and entrapment. The house might be
already dark, perhaps because it was abandoned, or it might begin light
and airy, but either night comes and people turn off the lights to go to
bed, or at some dramatic point the lights will fail (often because of a
raging storm).
2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense.
• The work is pervaded by a threatening feeling, a fear enhanced by the
unknown. This atmosphere is sometimes advanced when characters see
only a glimpse of something--was that a person rushing out the window or
only the wind blowing a curtain? Is that creaking sound coming from
someone's step on the squeaky floor, or only the normal sounds of the
night? Often the plot itself is built around a mystery, such as unknown
parentage, a disappearance, or some other inexplicable event. People
disappear or show up dead inexplicably. Elements 3, 4, and 5 below
contribute to this atmosphere.
•
In modern novels and filmmaking, the inexplicable events are often
murders. The bodies are sometimes mutilated in ways that defy
explanation--"What kind of monster could do this?" or "Here's the body,
but there's no blood." When the corpses start to mount, suspense is
raised as to who will get killed next. (In filmmaking, the atmosphere can
be created largely by the music. Anyone who has watched a horror movie
with the sound off or very low knows this.)
3. An ancient prophecy
• An ancient prophecy is connected with the castle or its
inhabitants (either former or present). The prophecy is usually
obscure, partial, or confusing. "What could it mean?" In more
watered down modern examples, this may amount to merely
a legend: "It's said that the ghost of old man Krebs still
wanders these halls."
4. Omens, portents, visions.
• A character may have a disturbing dream vision, or some
phenomenon may be seen as a portent of coming events. For
example, if the statue of the lord of the manor falls over, it
may portend his death. In modern fiction, a character might
see something (a shadowy figure stabbing another shadowy
figure) and think that it was a dream.
5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events.
• Dramatic, amazing events occur, such as ghosts or giants
walking, or inanimate objects (such as a suit of armor or
painting) coming to life. In some works, the events are
ultimately given a natural explanation, while in others the
events are truly supernatural.
6. High, even overwrought emotion.
• The narration may be highly sentimental, and the characters
are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially,
terror. Characters suffer from raw nerves and a feeling of
impending doom. Crying and emotional speeches are
frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common. In the filmed
gothic, screaming is common.
7. Women in distress.
• As an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the female
characters often face events that leave them fainting, terrified,
screaming, and/or sobbing. A lonely, pensive, and oppressed
heroine is often the central figure of the novel, so her sufferings are
even more pronounced and the focus of attention. The women
suffer all the more because they are often abandoned, left alone
(either on purpose or by accident), and have no protector at times.
(In budget horror-gothic, when the guy tells the girl, "Stay here; I'll
be right back," you pretty much know that one of them will soon be
dead.)
8. Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male.
• One or more male characters has the power, as king, lord of the
manor, father, or guardian, to demand that one or more of the
female characters do something intolerable. The woman may be
commanded to marry someone she does not love (it may even be
the powerful male himself), or commit a crime.
9. The metonymy of gloom and horror.
Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to
stand for something else (like sorrow). For example, the film industry likes to
use metonymy as a quick shorthand, so we often notice that it is raining in
funeral scenes. Note that the following metonymies for "doom and gloom" all
suggest some element of mystery, danger, or the supernatural.
10. The
vocabulary
of the
gothic.
Gothic Motifs
A motif is a repeated
theme, image, or literary
device. Look for these
common
supernatural/Gothic motifs
in the Romantic works we
will read.
Forbidden Knowledge or Power/ Faust Motif
• This motif takes its name from the German gothic legend of
Dr. Faustus, who sold his soul to the devil to obtain power
and knowledge forbidden to ordinary humans.
• Forbidden knowledge/power is often the Gothic
protagonist's goal. The Gothic “hero” questions the
universe's ambiguous nature and tries to comprehend and
control those supernatural powers that mortals cannot
understand. He tries to overcome human limitations and
make himself into a “god”. This ambition usually leads to the
hero's “fall” or destruction; however, Gothic tales of
ambition sometimes paradoxically evoke our admiration
because they picture individuals with the courage to defy
fate and cosmic forces in an attempt to transcend the
mundane to the eternal and sublime.
• Consider again Frankenstein’s quest for the secret of life.
Beast Transformations
• The protagonist's ambitious pursuit of
forbidden
powers
often
results
in
transformation
into
a
beast/monster.
Frequently, this transformation is depicted as
a degradation of the protagonist and a loss of
humanity (overreaching ambition has caused
the protagonist to fall to the level of a beast).
Demon Lovers/Vampires
• The protagonist's fall is sometimes accomplished
through a relationship with a “demon lover” who
acts as the protagonist's double or alter-ego,
leading the protagonist into experiences
forbidden by societal norms. The demon lover is
frequently female, a femme fatale (fatal or deadly
woman) who seduces and entices the protagonist
to destruction. While in some cases, the femme
fatale seems indicative of the misogyny of
patriarchal cultures, in others, the masterful and
destroying female seems to enact a fantasy of
female empowerment.
Demons/Devils/Witches/Spirits/Angels
• Often symbolize conflicting forces within the
human soul. The hero may be tempted by evil
spirits or redeemed by good spirits that
symbolize the hero's own potential for evil or
good.
• The picture opposite is an illustration of the three
witches from Shakespeare's play Macbeth . Their
prophecies inflame Macbeth's ambition to
become King of Scotland and inspire him to
assassinate the current monarch.
Ghosts
Ghosts are spirits that can represent some aspect of
the protagonist's experience that “will not die,” that
cannot be repressed or escaped. For instance, in
Shakespeare's play Macbeth , the ghost of Banquo
(whom Macbeth has had murdered) returns to haunt
Macbeth, suggesting Macbeth's stricken conscience
and his guilt over destroying his innocent friend. The
painting above depicts the Japanese ghost ( yurei ) of
Okiku, a character of Japanese legend who was
murdered by her master. Okiku worked as a serving
maid in the home of a Samurai (Japanese warrior).
When she refused her master's sexual advances, he
killed her and threw her body down a well. Every
night after her death, Okiku's ghost would rise from
the well and weep loudly throughout the night.
Hearing the continuous weeping eventually drove
Okiku's murderer mad. Thus, Okiku's ghost embodied
the murderer's own undying guilt that eventually led
to his insanity.
Dreams/Visions
• Terrible truths are often revealed to characters
through dreams or visions. The hidden
knowledge of the universe and of human nature
emerges through dreams because, when the
person sleeps, reason sleeps, and the
supernatural, unreasonable world can break
through. Dreams in Gothic literature express the
dark, unconscious depths of the psyche that are
repressed by reason—truths that are too terrible
to be comprehended by the conscious mind.
Magic Talismans/ Cursed or Blessed
Objects/Holy Relics
• Magic talismans may represent supernatural
forces or forces within the hero's personality
(e.g., the crucifix wielded by vampire hunters
against the vampire symbolizes the goodness
and self-sacrifice of those who fight the
vampire). Cursed and blessed objects can also
act as symbols of human duality.
The Double or Doppelganger (German
for “double-goer”)
• The Doppleganger was defined by Federick S. Frank as
“a second self or alternate identity, sometimes, but not
always, a physical twin.
• Gothic doppelgangers often haunt and threaten the
rational psyche of the victim to whom they become
attached.
• The double motif suggests that humans are burdened
with a dual nature, a soul forever divided.
• Double characters are often paired in common
relationships, such as twins, siblings, husband/wife,
parent/child, hero/villain, creator/creature, etc.
Consider Frankenstein and his creature as doubles
Graveyards/Churches/Ruins
• Such settings suggest human confrontation with
infinite forces (death, spirits, time, etc.).
Haunted Castle/House
• The protagonist's castle or home can reflect the
protagonist's psychological character. Hidden
chambers, subterranean vaults, twisting
corridors, and secret passages can symbolize the
hidden depths of the mind, unknown aspects of
the psyche that are beyond rational control.
Multiple Narrative/Spiral Narrative Method
• The story is frequently told through a series
of secret manuscripts or multiple tales, each
revealing a deeper secret, so the narrative
gradually spirals inward toward the hidden
truth. The narrator is often a first-person
narrator compelled to tell the story to a
fascinated or captive listener (representing
the
captivating
power
of
forbidden
knowledge). By revealing to us their own
souls' secrets, these narrators reveal the
secrets of humankind's soul.
Madness/Madmen/Characters Who
Question Their Own Sanity
• Madness suggests humanity's encounter with
the fantastic side of existence that defies
human reason. Because mad characters are in
touch with a deeper reality beyond rational
comprehension, they often speak the truths
that normal characters wish to deny. Madmen
face universal or psychic forces that rational
men fear to acknowledge.
Blood
• A prominent symbol in Gothic
works often intimating the
paradox of the human condition;
blood can represent both life and
death, or both guilt (e.g., murder)
and innocence (e.g., redemptive
blood).
• The picture at right depicts
vampire hunters from Dracula
thwarting the attack of a female
vampire—her innocence and
beauty are contaminated by the
blood dripping down the front of
her gown, evidence of her cruel
animal nature.
Other motifs
• Other motifs to watch for: murder, innocence
victimized by evil, incest, reversal of values, the
Wanderer, the Outcast, mistaken or secret
identities, dichotomies (attraction/repulsion,
life/death, innocence/evil, nobility/corruption,
etc.)
Summation
• Gothic literature pictures the human condition as an
ambiguous mixture of good and evil powers that cannot be
understood completely by human reason. Thus, the Gothic
perspective conceives of the human condition as a paradox,
a dilemma of duality — humans are divided in the conflict
between opposing forces in the world and in themselves.
• The Gothic themes of human nature's depravity, the
struggle between good and evil in the human soul, and the
existence of unexplainable elements in humanity and the
cosmos, are prominent themes in many of the works we
will study.