AN Intro To Gothic Lit

THE GOTHIC TRADITION IN LITERATURE:
TOP 10 LIST – THE MUST-KNOWS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE

(1) CATHOLICISM VS. ANGLICANISM
• LOTS OF GOTHIC LIT IS INTENSELY ANTI-CATHOLIC. LIKE,
ANGRY PEASANTS WITH PITCHFORKS ANTI-CATHOLIC.
• SPEAKING OF WHICH, IT'S THE LONG HISTORY OF PEASANTS

WITH PITCHFORKS, WITCHES BURNED AT THE STAKE, AND
TORTUOUS INQUISITIONS THAT GOTHIC WRITERS WERE
TAPPING INTO WHEN THEY CRAFTED THEIR GRISLY TALES.
• PART OF THE APPEAL IS THAT EUROPE'S PAST IS SORT OF A

REPOSITORY OF VARIOUS FAITHS INCLUDING PAGAN
TRADITIONS THAT ALLOWED FOR A CONTINUED INTEREST IN
THE SUPERNATURAL.
(1) CATHOLICISM VS. ANGLICANISM
• BUT THE DOMINANT RELIGION IN ENGLAND DURING THE TIME MOST
GOTHIC NOVELS WERE PRODUCED WAS ANGLICANISM:
• A REJECTION OF CATHOLICISM ESTABLISHED BY (THEN
CATHOLIC) KING HENRY VIII IN 1534 AFTER HE WANTED TO
DIVORCE HIS WIFE AND REMARRY (THE POPE SAID NO, SO
HENRY CREATED HIS OWN CHURCH).
• ANGLICANISM WAS NO LONGER NEW BY THE TIME CASTLE OF
OTRANTO WAS WRITTEN, SO GOTHIC TEXTS, THEN, WERE ABLE TO
CAPITALIZE ON A FAITH THAT NOW FELT BOTH FOREIGN AND
ANCESTRAL, OLD AND EXOTIC.
• UNFORTUNATELY, THIS CAME AT THE EXPENSE OF VILIFYING AN
ENTIRE FAITH WITH THE LITERARY FIXTURES LIKE RAPACIOUS MONKS
AND SUPERSTITIOUS VILLAGERS…
• BUT IT MADE FOR SOME REALLY GOOD STORIES.
2) FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE NAPOLEONIC WARS
• NOT JUST FODDER FOR A CLASSIC-NOVEL-TURNED-PLAY-
TURNED-BROADWAY-MUSICAL-TURNED-HOLLYWOOD-
BLUCKBUSTER, THE GOINGS-ON IN FRANCE PROVIDED AN
INTERESTING AND OFTEN TEMPESTUOUS BACKDROP FOR THE
LITERARY WORLD.
(3) GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
• DID YOU HEAR THAT CREAK?
• WAS IT A LOOSE FLOORBOARD?
• WAS IT A GHOST?
• WHAT'S A FLYING BUTTRESS AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
• HOW MANY GARGOYLES DOES IT TAKE TO GIVE YOU THE
HEEBIE-JEEBIES?
• IS THAT A TURRET? CAN I SCALE IT?

• MAKES SENSE THAT ARCHITECTURE IS A BIG DEAL FOR A
LITERARY MOVEMENT IN WHICH THE SETTING ACTS AS A MAIN
CHARACTER, RIGHT?
• IN FACT, IF IT WEREN'T FOR GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, A

DARKER COMPONENT OF ROMANTICISM MAY NOT HAVE
MANIFESTED AT ALL. LUCKILY, MANY ENGLISH
CONTEMPORARIES IN THE 18TH CENTURY, HAD AN
ABUNDANCE OF CRUMBLING BUILDINGS POPULATING THEIR
LANDSCAPES.
• PEOPLE OFTEN MADE A HOLIDAY OF TOURING OLD HOMES

AND CASTLES, AND WHAT STRUCK MOST GOTHIC WRITERS
WAS A SENSE OF THE PROFOUND AND MYSTERIOUS.
• BY THE TIME HORACE WALPOLE FELL IN LOVE WITH THESE
BUILDINGS, THE WORD GOTHIC NOT ONLY DESCRIBED THIS
TYPE OF ARCHITECTURE; IT ENCAPSULATED HOW THE 18TH
CENTURY VIEWED THE ENTIRE MEDIEVAL PERIOD.
• TO THEM, IT WAS REMOTE, DARK, GRUESOME, VIOLENT,

EMOTIONALLY CHARGED, SUPERSTITIOUS, AND UNTAMED.
• IN CONTRAST TO ENLIGHTENMENT VALUES, THE

ROMANTICS ROMANTICIZED THIS PERIOD AND TRIED TO
REPLICATE THESE ELEMENTS IN FICTION.
• IN A WAY, WALPOLE WAS WRITING THE FIRST FAN

FICTION, BUT HIS INSPIRATION, AND LEADING LADY, WAS
A CASTLE.
(4) ISOLATION
• GOTHIC NOVELS WANTED YOU TO FEEL ALONE,
SCARED, VULNERABLE, AND CONFINED.
• BOTH PARTS OF THE DAMSEL-IN-DISTRESS/HERO

EQUATIONS ARE PART OF THE ISOLATION GAME.
• THE ANTIHERO IS INHERENTLY MISUNDERSTOOD AND

ALONE, AND THE STOCK DAMSEL-IN-DISTRESS
RARELY HAS FAMILY OR FRIENDS WHO CARE ABOUT
HER.
(4) ISOLATION
• OFTEN, THE LADY IN QUESTION WOULD ESCAPE FROM
ONE DANGER ONLY TO FIND IN THEIR SOURCE OF
ESCAPE A NEW THREAT. OOPS.
• WHY WERE THE GOTHICS SO FOCUSED ON ISOLATION?
• WELL, YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT THE ROMANTICS
(WHO THE GOTHICS GREW OUT OF) WERE ALL ABOUT
THE INDIVIDUAL—AND INDIVIDUALS…ARE ISOLATED.
• ADD TO THAT THE INCREASING SENSE OF CHANGE
AND THE NOSTALGIA FOR A GOTHIC VERSION OF
THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD THAT THEY DREAMED UP,
THESE FOLKS FELT QUITE ADRIFT IN THEIR OWN
WORLD.
(4) ISOLATION
THINK ABOUT THIS:
MARY SHELLEY, FRANKENSTEIN (1818)
“I WAS DEPENDENT ON NONE AND RELATED TO NONE. THE PATH OF MY
DEPARTURE WAS FREE, AND THERE WAS NONE TO LAMENT MY ANNIHILATION.
MY PERSON WAS HIDEOUS AND MY STATURE GIGANTIC. WHAT DID THIS
MEAN? WHO WAS I? WHAT WAS I? WHENCE DID I COME? WHAT WAS MY
DESTINATION? THESE QUESTIONS CONTINUALLY RECURRED, BUT I WAS
UNABLE TO SOLVE THEM.”
WHAT'S LONELIER THAN A SENSITIVE ROMANTIC POET?

THIS DOCTOR AND MONSTER DUO THAT THE WIFE OF A ROMANTIC POET
DREAMED UP.
MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN DEALS WITH TWO KINDS OF ISOLATION:
MAN ALONE EVEN WITHIN SOCIETY AND MAN'S CREATION WITHOUT
SOCIETY. FRANKENSTEIN IS OFTEN CONSIDERED GOTHIC-ROMANTIC—
MAKES SENSE TO US.
(5) MELODRAMA
• GASP! O MY! O DEAR, I FEEL FAINT. I MAY JUST HAVE TO
DRAMATICALLY RAISE MY ARM TO COVER A SILENT SCREAM AS I DAINTILY
FALL TO THE COLD, HARD GROUND IN TERROR. WOE IS ME!
• OR, WHO IS THAT VILLAINOUS CLOAKED FIGURE TWIRLING HIS

MOUSTACHE SO INSIDIOUSLY?
• GOTHIC WRITERS WERE TOTALLY INTO OVER-WROUGHT EMOTION AND

BORROWED HEAVILY FROM MELODRAMA.
• MELODRAMATIC PLAYS TOOK OFF IN THE 18TH CENTURY AND GAVE US A

WHOLE BOATLOAD OF SHARED CULTURAL IMAGES:
• THE HAND FLUTTERING TO THE HEART WHEN SHOCKED;
• THE EXAGGERATED LIP-BITE WHEN CONFUSED;
• THE WRINGING OF THE HANDS WHEN WORRIED.
• IT'S ALL MELODRAMA. THIS TYPE OF OVER-THE-TOP

EMOTIONAL
GESTURING WAS A TREND PEOPLE ACTUALLY PAID TO GO SEE—LIVE.
6) SENSATIONALISM
• IN MONSTERS, INC., MONSTERS NEED FEARSOME SCREAMS
FOR ENERGY. THAT'S A LOT LIKE WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE:
• GOTHIC NOVELS THRIVE ON THE VARIED AND EXTREME

FEELINGS THEY HOPE TO ENGENDER.
• FROM EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO GUT-WRENCHING

SUSPENSE, GOTHIC NOVELS WERE THE FIRST THRILLERS.
• (THOUGH, IF YOU'RE IN THE CAMP THAT BELIEVES THAT

LAUGHS TRUMP SCREAMS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT
GOTHIC PARODIES.)
(5) MELODRAMA & 6) SENSATIONALISM

• WHEN I HEAR MELODRAMA, I THINK REALITY TV.
• BUT MELODRAMA WAS A THING WAY BEFORE THE
KARDASHIANS OR THE REAL HOUSEWIVES CAME
AROUND.
(5) MELODRAMA & 6) SENSATIONALISM
• PART OF THE ADDICTIVE ALLURE OF GOTHIC NOVELS IS
THEIR ABILITY TO MELD TWO DISTINCT STYLISTIC
ELEMENTS:
• MELODRAMA FROM THEATER, AND
• SENSATIONALISM FROM CONTEMPORARY NOVELS OF THE

TIME
• BOTH ELEMENTS WERE HARSHLY RIDICULED BY CRITICS AT

THE TIME WHO CONSIDERED NOVELS IN GENERAL TO BE
LOW BROW, BUT GOTHIC NOVELS THAT OFFERED YOU
EXCESSIVE EMOTION (MELODRAMA) AND MADE YOUR
HEART POUND (SENSATIONALISM) SOLD LIKE HOTCAKES.
• EMILY BRONTE, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1847)
“IT WOULD DEGRADE ME TO MARRY HEATHCLIFF NOW; SO HE SHALL NEVER

KNOW HOW I LOVE HIM: AND THAT, NOT BECAUSE HE'S HANDSOME, NELLY,
BUT BECAUSE HE'S MORE MYSELF THAN I AM. WHATEVER OUR SOULS ARE
MADE OF, HIS AND MINE ARE THE SAME; AND LINTON'S IS AS DIFFERENT AS
A MOONBEAM FROM LIGHTNING, OR FROST FROM FIRE.”(9.92)
• YEP, CATHY AND HEATHCLIFF ARE NOT JUST MADE FOR EACH
OTHER…THEY'RE ONE AND THE SAME.
• TOO BAD SHE JUST GOT DONE TELLING NELLY, HER MAID, THAT HE AIN'T
NEVER GONNA PUT A RING ON IT.
• IT WOULD "DEGRADE" HER TO MARRY THE MAN SHE REALLY LOVES? THE
MAN SHE SAYS IS—WAIT FOR IT—HER VERY SELF? TALK ABOUT DRAMA-
RAMA.
(7) MYSTERY
• LONG BEFORE SCOOBY DOO'S MYSTERY MACHINE
CHASED BAD GUYS IN A MASK, GOTHIC LITERATURE
FOCUSED THE CORE OF ITS NARRATIVE AROUND SOME
DEEP, DARK, ALMOST UNSPEAKABLE, MYSTERY.
• SO, WHAT IS IT ABOUT A GOOD WHO-DONE-IT THAT
ENGROSSES AUDIENCES?
• SOME LIKE THE CHASE.
• SOME LIKE THE THRILL OF THE UNKNOWN.
• SOME LIKE SEEING HOW THE CLUES FIT.
• SOME LIVE FOR THE MOMENT THAT THEY FIND
OUT THEIR GUESS WAS RIGHT ON THE MONEY.
• MOST, THOUGH? MOST JUST LOVE THE SURPRISE.
(7) MYSTERY
THAT SURPRISE IS PART OF BOTH THE SUCCESS AND POTENTIAL
DOWNFALL OF GOTHIC NOVELS.
• YOU MAY ASSOCIATE MYSTERIES MORE WITH THE

METHODICAL STORIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.
• YOU MIGHT THINK OF FORMULAIC CRIME DRAMAS OR

GROCERY STORE COPY-CAT TEXTS.
• BUT THAT'S PART OF THE PROBLEM.

• WHAT WAS ONCE NEW, EYE-OPENING, AND THOUGHT-
PROVOKING HAS BEEN REPLICATED SO MUCH THAT YOU NOW
KNOW FROM THE FIRST SHOT THAT THE RANDOM PERSON
INTRODUCED IN THE OPENING SCENE JUST HAPPENS TO BE
THE CULPRIT.
(7) MYSTERY
• HERE'S THE THING THOUGH: GOTHIC NOVELS, AT LEAST THE VERY
EARLY ONES, WERE DOING THEIR OWN THING—AND THEIR PLOTS
WERE HUGE SURPRISES.
• READERS OF GOTHIC NOVELS WERE ENTHRALLED, BECAUSE THEY

NEEDED TO KNOW WHAT EXACTLY WAS BEHIND THAT SHIMMERING
VEIL, WHO PUT OUT THE CANDLES, AND WHERE EXACTLY THAT
WAILING WAS COMING FROM.
• GOTHIC NOVELS DIDN'T START OUT WITH A FORMULA, AND THEIR

MYSTERIOUS ELEMENTS CONTRIBUTED MORE TO THE OVERALL
ATMOSPHERE OF THE STORY RATHER THAN TAKING CENTER STAGE.
• GOTHIC NOVELS WERE THE ORIGINAL MYSTERIES.

• AND, OF COURSE, INSPIRED CENTURIES OF MYSTERY WRITING TO
COME.
(8) SETTING AS CHARACTER

• SOMETIMES A HOUSE IS JUST A HOUSE—BUT NOT IN
GOTHIC LITERATURE.
• YOU'RE NOT IMAGINING THINGS: THAT MIRROR IS
TRYING TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING BESIDES YOUR
REFLECTION.
• THOSE LIGHT FIXTURES? THEY'RE NOT FLICKERING

BECAUSE OF THE WIND. JUST SAYING.
• DRAFTY MONASTERIES, WINDY MOORS, SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGEWAYS,
ROTTING MANSIONS, DARK CASTLES AT THE TOP OF THE HILL WITH
LIGHTNING STREAKING ACROSS THE SKY: IT'S JUST YOUR FRIENDLY
GOTHIC NEIGHBORHOOD.
• AND OFTEN, THAT SETTING IS A MAIN PLAYER IN THE STORY—AND MORE
THAN OFTEN, ITS TITLE: THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO, WUTHERING HEIGHTS,
NORTHANGER ABBEY, YOU GET THE IDEA.
• WHY GIVE SUCH CREDENCE TO OLD BUILDINGS AND CREEPY
WILDERNESS?
• THINK ABOUT IT. YOU'RE IN ENGLAND—THE VERITABLE BIRTHPLACE
OF GOTHIC LITERATURE—IN THE 18TH CENTURY.
• YOU'RE IN FULL-SWING OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT, AND A PART OF
YOU IS GETTING TIRED OF REASON AND PRACTICALITY, AND YOU'RE
SURROUNDED LARGELY BY THREE THINGS: THE COUNTRY (MOSTLY
FARMLAND); THE CITY (OFFICES, THEATRES, AND INNS); AND ROCKY,
WOODSY WILDERNESS.
• IN BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTRY, YOU'VE GOT THESE
MONUMENTAL ESTATES LEFT OVER FROM A FEW CENTURIES AGO.
• WHAT CATCHES YOUR ATTENTION SPECIFICALLY?
• MEDIEVAL CHURCHES, MONASTERIES, CASTLES, AND
FORTRESSES.
• YOU FEEL THAT THESE RELICS HAVE A CERTAIN EMOTIONAL

ENERGY THAT TOTALLY JIBES WITH YOUR BURGEONING
ROMANTIC SENSIBILITIES.
• THESE EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED BUILDINGS HAVE A LIFE OF THEIR
OWN. THEY'VE LIVED A LONG TIME, AND NOW THEY
WANT…REVENGE?
• WHILE MANY GOTHIC NOVELS MAY NOT HAVE MORE GOING

ON THAN A STRANGE CURSE, MORE OFTEN, THE STRANGE
ELEMENTS WITHIN THESE BUILDINGS PLAY A SIGNIFICANT BUT
MORE SUBTLE ROLE IN THE PLOT.
• TRICK BOOKSHELVES, FLICKERING CANDLES, DUSTY CURTAINS,
LOCKED WINDOWS—THEY'RE ALL MEANINGFUL.
• THE AGE, THE HISTORY, AND THE OVER-ALL CREEP FACTOR OF

THESE PLACES CHANGE THE WAY THE CHARACTERS THINK AND
BEHAVE.
• ATMOSPHERE HAS A HUGE ROLE IN THE PLOT AND OFTEN MIRRORS

THE FEELINGS AND ACTIONS OF THE (OTHER) CHARACTERS.
EDGAR ALLAN POE, "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER" (1839)
“WHILE THE OBJECTS AROUND ME—WHILE THE CARVINGS OF THE CEILINGS,
THE SOMBRE TAPESTRIES OF THE WALLS, THE EBONY BLACKNESS OF THE
FLOORS, AND THE PHANTASMAGORIC ARMORIAL TROPHIES WHICH RATTLED
AS I STRODE, WERE BUT MATTERS TO WHICH, OR TO SUCH AS WHICH, I HAD
BEEN ACCUSTOMED FROM MY INFANCY—WHILE I HESITATED NOT TO
ACKNOWLEDGE HOW FAMILIAR WAS ALL THIS—I STILL WONDERED TO FIND
HOW UNFAMILIAR WERE THE FANCIES WHICH ORDINARY IMAGES WERE
STIRRING UP.”
• THIS CREEPTASTIC
SHORT STORY TAKES TREATING-THE-SETTING-AS-A-
CHARACTER TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
• THIS HOUSE IS OLD AND IT IS MAD…BUT WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHY.
• THE BROTHER AND SISTER PAIR (THE USHER TWINS) ARE SUFFERING FROM
A PAIR OF TRULY AWFUL ILLNESSES. HERE, THE NARRATOR PONDERS HIS
CURRENT STATE OF FEAR IN A PLACE THAT SHOULD BE FAMILIAR.
• IN KEEPING WITH GOTHIC LITERATURE'S HIGHEST VALUES, THE HOUSE
DEFINITELY MAKES HIM FEEL THINGS AND MOVES HIS IMAGINATION TO
SOME INTERESTING PLACES.
(9) THE FALLEN HERO
• WHAT'S BETTER THAN THE PERFECT, SUPERMAN-STYLE,
VIRTUALLY-NO-WEAKNESSES SUPERHERO?
• GOTHIC'S ANSWER: THE HERO WHO'S A LITTLE DARK, A LITTLE

MESSED UP, A LITTLE MORE LIKE US.
• THE FALLEN HERO HAS A LOT TO OFFER…BUT WHEN HE SAVES

YOU, IT'LL PROBABLY BE A LITTLE—OKAY, A LOT—MESSIER.
THINK CAPTAIN AMERICA AFTER CIVIL WAR, OR BATMAN,
JUST IN GENERAL.
(9) THE FALLEN HERO
• YOU CAN DEFINITELY THANK GOTHIC NOVELS AND THEIR
DESCENDANTS FOR THE BAD-BOY-AS-GOOD-GUY HERO.
• IN KEEPING WITH MOST OF THE GOTHIC AESTHETIC, THE APPEAL OF
THE FALLEN HERO WAS THAT HE PLAYED BY HIS OWN RULES—A
REBEL-WITH-HIS-OWN-CAUSE.
• IT'S NOT JUST THAT HE'S UNPREDICTABLE; IT'S THAT HIS DECISIONS
HAVE AN INTERNAL LOGIC DEPENDENT ON THE CHARACTER'S OWN
MORAL CODE.
• PRETTY HOT STUFF TO THROW IN THE FACE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
THINKERS WHO WERE ALL ABOUT LAWS THAT WOULD HOLD TRUE IN
ALL CASES, AT ALL TIMES.
• ROBERT LUIS STEVENSON'S THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL

AND MR. HYDE OFFERS YOU A PROTAGONIST-ANTAGONIST TWO-
FOR-ONE SPECIAL. CHECK OUT WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE YOUR OWN
WORST ENEMY.
(10) THE SUPERNATURAL & THE SUBLIME (AWE-INSPIRING AND
TRANSCENDENT)
• GOTHIC LITERATURE TOOK A PROFOUND INTEREST IN THE
SUPERNATURAL.
• FANTASTIC ELEMENTS ARE ALL OVER THE NOVELS AND OFTEN

ALLOW FOR AN EXPERIENCE OF THE SUBLIME (I.E., THE
UNCANNY, THE INEXPLICABLE, THE TRANSCENDENT).
TRANSCENDENT)
• VAMPIRES, GHOSTS, DEMONS, (OH MY!)—THOSE GUYS AND OTHER
MONSTERS GOT THEIR BIG BREAK IN GOTHIC NOVELS…AND THE WORLD
NEVER LOOKED BACK.
• IN FACT, ABSOLUTELY NO TRUE GOTHIC TALE WOULD BE COMPLETE

WITHOUT THE SUPERNATURAL.
• SOME ARE TRADITIONALISTS LIKE HORACE WALPOLE AND MATTHEW

GREGORY LEWIS, WHO WROTE ABOUT ACTUAL PHYSICAL MONSTERS…
UNDER YOUR BED. (JUST KIDDING.)
• OTHERS PUSHED THE BOUNDARIES AND INTRODUCED MORE

PSYCHOLOGICAL TERRORS THAT JUST SUGGESTED OTHERWORLDLY
THREATS.
• ANN RADCLIFFE WAS FOND OF OFFERING "NATURAL"

EXPLANATIONS FOR THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT.
TRANSCENDENT)
• HENRY JAMES'S THE TURN OF THE SCREW IS USUALLY BILLED AS A GHOST
STORY, BUT IT COULD ALSO BE READ AS THE MAIN CHARACTER'S MENTAL
BREAKDOWN. WE NEVER GET ANY REAL ANSWERS, AND THERE'S
DEFINITELY A HOST OF PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES READY TO PAINT THE TWO
UNNERVING YOUNG CHILDREN-OF-THE-CORN WANNABES AS EITHER
INNOCENT VICTIMS OR DEMONIC SERVANTS OF EVIL…MUAHAHAHA.
• BEYOND THE FUN OF PLAYING WITH THE PARANORMAL, GOTHIC TEXTS
WENT ALL SUPERNATURAL IN ORDER TO REACH AN EMOTIONAL PINNACLE
THEY CONSIDERED THE SUBLIME—AN INDESCRIBABLE FEELING OF TERROR
(AND SOMETIMES JOY). NEEDLESS TO SAY, DEVELOPING MOOD
THROUGH TONE WAS PRETTY IMPORTANT TO THESE WRITERS.
• THE UNDISPUTED KING OF TONE IS NONE OTHER THAN OUR VERY OWN
EDGAR ALLAN POE. HIS "TELL TALE HEART" BLURS OUR SENSE OF THE
SUPERNATURAL AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL.
• WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE SCRATCHES ARE SOMETIMES TREE BRANCHES
AND AT OTHER TIMES—SPOILER ALERT!—THE GHOST OF ONE YOUR MAIN
CHARACTERS? WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT THE SUPERNATURAL IN
WUTHERING HEIGHTS TO FIND OUT.
GOTHIC LITERATURE AUTHORS
A QUICK LOOK AT THE ORIGINATORS OF GOTHIC

LITERATURE
• HORACE WALPOLE
• ANN RADCLIFFE
• MATTHEW GREGORY LEWIS
• MARY SHELLEY
• BRAM STOKER
HORACE WALPOLE
• IT IS GENERALLY AGREED THAT THE FIRST, OR THE FIRST MAJOR
GOTHIC NOVEL WAS HORACE WALPOLE'S THE CASTLE OF
OTRANTO PUBLISHED IN 1764. THIS NOVEL SET THE STANDARD
FOR ALL OTHER GOTHIC NOVELS TO FOLLOW.
• HORACE WALPOLE, SON OF THE PRIME MINISTER, ROBERT

WALPOLE, PRETTY MUCH CREATED GOTHIC LITERATURE.
• HE WANTED TO CREATE A TONGUE-IN-CHEEK LITERARY
COUNTERPART TO THE GOTHIC CASTLES HE LOVED SO MUCH.
• HE WANTED SOMETHING GRUESOME AND BEAUTIFUL,

SHADOWY AND VIBRANT, UNEXPECTED AND WELL-WORN.
• AND SO, GOTHICISM, THE LITERARY MOVEMENT, WAS BORN.

• THANKS, WALLY.
ANN RADCLIFFE
• THE YEAR GOTHICISM WAS BORN (WHEN THE CASTLE OF
OTRANTO WAS PUBLISHED IN 1764) WAS THE SAME YEAR THE
MAJOR GOTHIC AUTHOR, THE ONE WHO POPULARIZED AND
REVOLUTIONIZED THE GENRE, WAS BORN.
• FATE!
• HOW'D SHE REVOLUTIONIZE THE GENRE?
• WELL, DURING THE LONG, LONELY NIGHTS SHE SPENT WAITING
FOR HER HUSBAND TO COME HOME FROM WORK, SHE
CAREFULLY CRAFTED GOTHIC TALES IN WHICH THE
SUPERNATURAL PHENOMENA WERE GIVEN NON-SUPERNATURAL
EXPLANATIONS—CONVOLUTED AND KIND OF IMPLAUSIBLE
EXPLANATIONS, BUT EXPLANATIONS NONETHELESS.
• HER TWIST OPENED THE FLOODGATES TO ALL SORTS OF GENRE
BLENDING AND LITERARY EXPERIMENTATION INCLUDING
PSYCHOLOGICALLY-DRIVEN NARRATIVES AND PROTO-SCIENCE
FICTION.
ANN RADCLIFFE
• THE ROMANCE OF THE FOREST
• THE ROMANCE OF THE FOREST WAS RADCLIFFE'S FIRST
WORK, AND IT CATAPULTED HER INTO SUCCESS.
• THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO

• TECHNICALLY HER FOURTH NOVEL, THE MYSTERIES OF
UDOLPHO IS STILL RADCLIFFE'S MOST FAMOUS. IT'S ALSO
THE MOST REFERENCED, PARODIED, AND EMULATED BY
AUTHORS LIKE JANE AUSTEN, ROBERT LUIS STEVENSON,
AND WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY.
MATTHEW GREGORY LEWIS
• MATTHEW "THE MONK" LEWIS WAS THE SON OF A
DIPLOMAT AND FOLLOWED IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS,
BUT WHEN HE WAS STATIONED AT THE HAGUE (THE THIRD
LARGEST CITY IN HOLLAND), HE WAS B-O-R-E-D OUT OF
HIS MIND.
• HIS ONLY FRIENDS WERE FRENCH NOBILITY WHO HAD
ESCAPED THE VIOLENCE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
AND SPENT THEIR TIME AT THE LOCAL PUBS.
• SO, WHAT'S A GUY WITH A LOT OF TIME AND LITTLE WORK
TO DO?
• WRITE A GOTHIC NOVEL! AND HE DID. IN 1796.
OVER THE COURSE OF TEN WEEKS. BEFORE HIS 20TH
BIRTHDAY.
WOW.
• OKAY, SO YOU'RE SITTING IN YOUR OFFICE AT THE EMBASSY IN
HOLLAND, THERE'S NOTHING TO DO, ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE
BITTER THAT THEY HAD TO RUN FOR THEIR LIVES FROM ALL THE
CRAZY POLITICAL, REVOLUTIONARY STUFF IN FRANCE, AND
YOU'RE JUST A NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD LEARNING HOW TO BE A
DIPLOMAT. YOU ARE BORED OUT OF YOUR MIND AND DECIDE
TO WRITE THE NEXT GREAT GOTHIC NOVEL. BUT YOU COULD
WRITE ANYTHING: EPIC POETRY, A PLAY, A NOVEL THAT'S NOT
ABOUT HOW EVERYONE GETS MURDERED. YET YOU CHOOSE
THE MOST VIOLENT THEMES YOU CAN THINK OF AND RUN WITH
IT.
THE MONK – VERY EW!

• FIRST, YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT IT'S LONG—REALLY LONG.
• NOW, THIS SHOULDN'T COME AS A SURPRISE SINCE MOST
18TH-CENTURY NOVELS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR GENRE, COULD
DOUBLE AS BRICKS, BUT IT BEARS REMEMBERING CONSIDERING
HIS WRITING TIME TABLE.
• THE MONK'S PLOT IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLICATED.
• COMPLICATED AND BLOODY AND RAUNCHY.
• MANY GOTHIC NOVELS HAVE SOME SEXUALLY-CHARGED PLOT
LINES, BUT THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE ... YOU'VE GOT A PREGNANT
NUN WHO'S VIOLENTLY MURDERED AND A MONK WHO HAS AN
AFFAIR WITH A DEMON-WITCH AND THEN MAKES AN UNOFFICIAL
PACT WITH THE DEVIL IN ORDER TO RAPE AND MURDER—SUPER
SPOILER ALERT—HIS SISTER.
VERY EW.
THE CASTLE SPECTRE

• THE FIRST GOTHIC PLAY THAT SPORTED A GHOST ONSTAGE.
• APPARENTLY, CASTING A WALKING-TALKING GHOST ACCOMPANIED
BY SPECIAL EFFECTS (MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT AND EXTRA
CANDLES) CROSSED SOME LINES OF DECORUM FOR AN AUDIENCE
WHO EXPECTED GHOSTS TO BE EITHER UNSEEN OR MORE SOLEMN.
• IN ANY CASE, IT WAS A ROARING SUCCESS.
MARY SHELLEY
• I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS ABOUT NINETEEN-YEAR-OLDS AND
BOREDOM-INDUCED WRITING, BUT SHELLEY BEGAN WORKING
ON FRANKENSTEIN AS PART OF A BET THAT STARTED WHEN SHE,
HER HUSBAND, AND THREE OF THEIR FRIENDS (MOST NOTABLY
LORD BYRON) HUNG OUT ONE SUMMER IN GENEVA,
SWITZERLAND. SHE WAS ONE OF THE ONLY TWO TO ACTUALLY
FINISH HER WRITING PROJECT (JOHN WILLIAM POLIDORI
WROTE THE VAMPYRE). SO, FRANKENSTEIN WAS THE PRODUCT
OF A GHOST STORY CONTEST.
• P.S. AT SEVENTEEN, MARY SHELLEY RAN OFF WITH HER

HUSBAND, PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY, WHILE HE WAS STILL
MARRIED TO SOMEONE ELSE, HAD HIS LOVE CHILD, AND THEN
MARRIED HIM AFTER HIS FIRST WIFE KILLED HERSELF. GIRL,
SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU WERE TROUBLE WHEN
YOU WALKED IN.
BRAM STOKER IN GOTHIC LITERATURE
• BY DAY, BRAM STOKER WORKED AS A BUSINESS MANAGER FOR THE
LYCEUM THEATRE IN LONDON, BUT BY NIGHT?
• BY NIGHT HE WROTE ABOUT THE ONE AND ONLY COUNT DRACULA.
• THOUGH HIS BA WAS IN MATHEMATICS AND HE SPENT MUCH OF HIS
TIME TOURING WITH THE ACTOR, HENRY IRVING, HE HONED HIS
WRITING SKILLS AS A STAFF WRITER FOR THE DAILY TELEGRAPH AND
WROTE OTHER HORROR STORIES BEFORE ULTIMATELY PENNING HIS
MOST FAMOUS GOTHIC TALE.
• MOST PEOPLE ATTRIBUTE HIS INSPIRATION FOR THE TEXT TO EASTERN
EUROPEAN FOLKLORE, ALTHOUGH HE NEVER TRAVELED TO EASTERN
EUROPE HIMSELF.
DRACULA
• YOU'VE SEEN EVERY EPISODE OF VAMPIRE DIARIES; YOU'VE READ
THE TWILIGHT SERIES COVER TO COVER; YOU CAN RECITE LINES
FROM INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, AND YOU'RE ALL ABOUT BINGE
WATCHING TRUE BLOOD. BUT UNTIL YOU'VE READ THIS LITTLE GEM,
YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON SO MUCH VAMPIRE GOODNESS.
GOTHIC LITERATURE TIMELINE
HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN

1717: HORACE WALPOLE BORN
1732: HENRY MAYO'S ON TRUTHS CONTAINED IN
POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS PUBLISHED; WANT T KNOW
HOW TO DIG UP A VAMPIRE? THIS BOOK'S GOT YOU
COVERED.
1764: HORACE WALPOLE'S CASTLE OF OTRANTO

PUBLISHED ON CHRISTMAS EVE; ANN RADCLIFFE BORN
1768: WALPOLE'S THE MYSTERIOUS MOTHER

PUBLISHED
1769: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE BORN; AND THEN HE

PROCEEDED TO CONQUER…EVERYTHING.
1771: ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA FIRST PUBLISHED;FOR
THE FIRST TIME, WE HAVE A COMPILATION ALL WORLD
KNOWLEDGE…ISH. (SORRY GOOGLE, EB WAS THERE
FIRST.)
1775: MATTHEW GREGORY "MONK" LEWIS AND JANE
AUSTEN BORN
1776: DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE SIGNED IN "NEW
WORLD"; EDWARD GIBBON'S HISTORY OF THE DECLINE
AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND ADAM SMITH'S AN
ENQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF THE WEALTH
OF NATIONS PUBLISHED
1778: ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL PASSED;
"CATHOLICS FREE TO WORSHIP IN ENGLAND? I SHAKE MY
FIST AT YOU!" SAID ANGRY PROTESTANTS.

1789: FRENCH REVOLUTION BEGINS AND THE GUILLOTINE
IS INVENTED; OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!
1794: RADCLIFFE'S THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO

PUBLISHED.
1795: FOOD RIOTS IN LONDON; BREAD RIOTS IN PARIS;

NAPOLEON TAKES COMMAND IN ITALY;
YEAH…EVERYTHING'S NOT SO SUNNY AT THIS POINT.
1796: LEWIS'S THE MONK PUBLISHED
1797: HORACE WALPOLE DIES; RADCLIFFE'S THE ITALIAN
PUBLISHED; LEWIS'S THE CASTLE SPECTRE FIRST PERFORMED
AT DRURY LANE THEATRE
1809: EDGAR ALLAN POE BORN
1816: THE SHELLEYS, LORD BYRON, AND FRIENDS SUMMER
AT THE VILLA DIODATI ON THE SHORES OF LAKE GENEVA;
DARE: LET'S SEE WHO CAN WRITE THE BEST GHOST STORY.
(SPOILER ALERT: FRANKENSTEIN WON.)
1818: MATTHEW GREGORY "MONK" LEWIS DIES,
SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN AND AUSTEN'S NORTHANGER
ABBEY PUBLISHED; IT'S THE CIRCLE OF LITERARY LIFE…OR A
MONSTER IS BORN.
1847: SISTERS EMILY AND CHARLOTTE BRONTË PUBLISH
WUTHERING HEIGHTS AND JANE EYRE, RESPECTIVELY;
BRAM STOKER BORN; FATE OF THE GOTHIC TRADITION? IT'S
IN GOOD HANDS.
GOTHIC LITERATURE TEXTS
HORACE WALPOLE, THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO (1764)
WALPOLE WAS WRITING ABOUT GOTHIC CASTLES AND DAMSELS IN DISTRESS
BEFORE IT WAS COOL.
ANN RADCLIFFE, THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO (1794)

IT'S GOT ALL THE SUPERNATURAL STUFF—IT JUST ALSO GIVES YOU A SEMI-
PLAUSIBLE REASON TO BELIEVE IT.
MATHEW GREGORY LEWIS, THE MONK (1796)

LEWIS JUST WANTED TO SEE HOW FAR HE COULD PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF
COMMON 18TH-CENTURY DECENCY. SHOCKINGLY, HE DIDN'T PUSH THAT HARD.
THE PEOPLE LIKED IT.
JANE AUSTEN, NORTHANGER ABBEY (1818)

I'M CATHY AND I THINK THE THINGS I READ IN GOTHIC NOVELS ARE REAL.
MARY SHELLEY, FRANKENSTEIN (1818)

HERE'S A CLASSIC WORK OF GOTHIC-ROMANTICISM—AND NO,
FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER ISN'T GREEN.
JOHN WILLIAM POLIDORI, THE VAMPYRE (1819)
REMEMBER THAT GHOST STORY CONTEST THAT CREATED FRANKENSTEIN?
THIS HERE'S ANOTHER TEXT TO COME OUT OF THAT SAME CONTEST. LESS
POPULAR; MORE VAMPIRES.
CHARLOTTE BRONTË, JANE EYRE (1847)

JANE'S JUST TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING—IT'S NOT HER FAULT THERE'S A
MAD WOMAN IN THE ATTIC.
EMILY BRONTË, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1847)

SISTERS! BRONTË #2 WAS ALSO INTO THE GOTHIC GAME.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES (1851)

DON'T CROSS COLONEL PYNCHEON—HE'LL CUT A WITCH.
WILKIE COLLINS, THE WOMAN IN WHITE (1859)

WHO IS THAT WOMAN IN WHITE? WHY DOES SHE LOOK SO FAMILIAR? AND
HOW CAN WE SAVE HER?
ROBERT LUIS STEVENSON, THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
(1886)
JEKYLL/HYDE HAS A FEW IDENTITY ISSUES IN THIS ONE. HOW VERY…GOTHIC.
H.G. WELLS, THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU (1896)

THE GUY JUST WANTED TO MAKE ANIMALS THAT LOOKED LIKE PEOPLE AND PEOPLE
THAT LOOKED LIKE ANIMALS. IS THAT SO BAD?
BRAM STOKER, DRACULA (1897)

THE O.G. CULLEN.
HENRY JAMES, THE TURN OF THE SCREW (1898)

I'M JUST A VERY GOOD GOVERNESS DOING A VERY GOOD JOB. IT'S THE CHILDREN;
LOOK AT WHAT THE CHILDREN ARE DOING. I THINK THEY KNOW SOMETHING WE
DON'T.
DAPHNE DUMAURIER, REBECCA (1938)

REBECCA IS A CLASSIC TALE OF DECEPTION AND BETRAYAL. THIS IS A SOAP-
OPERA CRIME THRILLER: THE STORY OF OBSESSION AND MURDER; OLD LOVERS
AND NEW LIES, COMPLETE WITH A PSYCHOTIC MAID CONVINCING THE HEROINE
THAT SHE’S HAUNTED BY HER PREDECESSOR.

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AN Intro To Gothic Lit

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THE GOTHIC TRADITION IN LITERATURE:

TOP 10 LIST – THE MUST-KNOWS OF GOTHIC LITERATURE

• SPEAKING OF WHICH, IT'S THE LONG HISTORY OF PEASANTS

• PART OF THE APPEAL IS THAT EUROPE'S PAST IS SORT OF A

• IS THAT A TURRET? CAN I SCALE IT?

• IN FACT, IF IT WEREN'T FOR GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, A

• PEOPLE OFTEN MADE A HOLIDAY OF TOURING OLD HOMES

• TO THEM, IT WAS REMOTE, DARK, GRUESOME, VIOLENT,

• IN CONTRAST TO ENLIGHTENMENT VALUES, THE

• IN A WAY, WALPOLE WAS WRITING THE FIRST FAN

• BOTH PARTS OF THE DAMSEL-IN-DISTRESS/HERO

• THE ANTIHERO IS INHERENTLY MISUNDERSTOOD AND

WHAT'S LONELIER THAN A SENSITIVE ROMANTIC POET?

• OR, WHO IS THAT VILLAINOUS CLOAKED FIGURE TWIRLING HIS

• GOTHIC WRITERS WERE TOTALLY INTO OVER-WROUGHT EMOTION AND

• MELODRAMATIC PLAYS TOOK OFF IN THE 18TH CENTURY AND GAVE US A

• THE HAND FLUTTERING TO THE HEART WHEN SHOCKED;

• THE EXAGGERATED LIP-BITE WHEN CONFUSED;

• THE WRINGING OF THE HANDS WHEN WORRIED.

• IT'S ALL MELODRAMA. THIS TYPE OF OVER-THE-TOP

• GOTHIC NOVELS THRIVE ON THE VARIED AND EXTREME

• FROM EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO GUT-WRENCHING

• (THOUGH, IF YOU'RE IN THE CAMP THAT BELIEVES THAT

(5) MELODRAMA & 6) SENSATIONALISM

• SENSATIONALISM FROM CONTEMPORARY NOVELS OF THE

• BOTH ELEMENTS WERE HARSHLY RIDICULED BY CRITICS AT

• EMILY BRONTE, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1847)

“IT WOULD DEGRADE ME TO MARRY HEATHCLIFF NOW; SO HE SHALL NEVER

• YOU MAY ASSOCIATE MYSTERIES MORE WITH THE

• YOU MIGHT THINK OF FORMULAIC CRIME DRAMAS OR

• BUT THAT'S PART OF THE PROBLEM.

• READERS OF GOTHIC NOVELS WERE ENTHRALLED, BECAUSE THEY

• GOTHIC NOVELS DIDN'T START OUT WITH A FORMULA, AND THEIR

• GOTHIC NOVELS WERE THE ORIGINAL MYSTERIES.

(8) SETTING AS CHARACTER

• THOSE LIGHT FIXTURES? THEY'RE NOT FLICKERING

• YOU FEEL THAT THESE RELICS HAVE A CERTAIN EMOTIONAL

• WHILE MANY GOTHIC NOVELS MAY NOT HAVE MORE GOING

• THE AGE, THE HISTORY, AND THE OVER-ALL CREEP FACTOR OF

• ATMOSPHERE HAS A HUGE ROLE IN THE PLOT AND OFTEN MIRRORS

• GOTHIC'S ANSWER: THE HERO WHO'S A LITTLE DARK, A LITTLE

• THE FALLEN HERO HAS A LOT TO OFFER…BUT WHEN HE SAVES

• ROBERT LUIS STEVENSON'S THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL

• FANTASTIC ELEMENTS ARE ALL OVER THE NOVELS AND OFTEN

• IN FACT, ABSOLUTELY NO TRUE GOTHIC TALE WOULD BE COMPLETE

• SOME ARE TRADITIONALISTS LIKE HORACE WALPOLE AND MATTHEW

• OTHERS PUSHED THE BOUNDARIES AND INTRODUCED MORE

• ANN RADCLIFFE WAS FOND OF OFFERING "NATURAL"

A QUICK LOOK AT THE ORIGINATORS OF GOTHIC

• HORACE WALPOLE, SON OF THE PRIME MINISTER, ROBERT

• HE WANTED SOMETHING GRUESOME AND BEAUTIFUL,

• AND SO, GOTHICISM, THE LITERARY MOVEMENT, WAS BORN.

• THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO

THE MONK – VERY EW!

THE CASTLE SPECTRE

• P.S. AT SEVENTEEN, MARY SHELLEY RAN OFF WITH HER

HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN

1764: HORACE WALPOLE'S CASTLE OF OTRANTO

1768: WALPOLE'S THE MYSTERIOUS MOTHER

1769: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE BORN; AND THEN HE

HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN

1794: RADCLIFFE'S THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO

1795: FOOD RIOTS IN LONDON; BREAD RIOTS IN PARIS;