Damsels: The Role Of Isolation In Gothic Literature

512 Words2 Pages

Gloomy, decaying setting: Haunted houses or castles with Trick bookshelves, flickering candles, dusty curtains and locked windows contribute to the mood of gothic novels because they are emotionally charged with a sense of fear and creepiness. Supernatural beings: Gothic novels play on the fear of the unknown by incorporating characters and creatures such as vampires, zombies and ghosts. Curses or prophecies: Vague prophecies are used in Gothic works in order to create mystery and to develop the plot gradually. They also serve as a challenge to the stories heros that they must try to overcome or decipher. Damsels in distress: In Gothic literature, Damsels in distress add a degree of urgency to the plot and uses a female character to motivate …show more content…

Mystery: Gothic novels include plots that are riddled with mystery that helps build suspense and contribute to the overall atmosphere of the story. Hidden passages: Hidden passages are often incorporated in this type of literature in order to add a degree of unexpectedness to the storyline and add plot twists that include unexpected escapes and mysterious disappearances. Isolation: Isolation plays a role in both the hero aspect of these stories, and the damsel in distress. The anti-hero may be isolated because he is depicted as misunderstood or strange, while the damsel in distress is isolated because she typically comes from an unhealthy or unorthodox family arrangement who neglect her. Anti-catholicism: Gothic novels are filled with things that portray and anti- catholic sentiment such as angry peasants with pitchforks.This makes sense because the dominant religion in England when most Gothic novels were produced was Anglicanism. This was a rejection of Catholicism established by King Henry VIII in 1534 after he wanted to divorce his wife and

Show More
Related

  • Social Ostracisation Within Frankenstein

    1620 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the powerful images conjured up by the words ‘gothic novel’ is that of a shadowy form rising from a mysterious place, Frankenstein’s monster rising from a laboratory table, Dracula creeping from his coffin, or, more generally, the slow opening of a crypt to reveal a dark and obscure figure, which all share in common the concept of Social Ostracisation both to the creator and creature. Gothic writing can be dated back for centuries, Shelly immediately comes to mind with Frankenstein as well as The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis and Dracula by Bram Stoker all can be associated with Social Ostracisation. The concept of alienating one to refuge, dismissal, and pain are all themes in these novels.

    Read More

  • Gothic motifs and symbols in Oscar Wilde's "Picture of Dorian Gray"

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    The gothic novel in defined mostly by atmosphere:- which dealt with the author’s choice of words . The space enhances the austere feelings that are meant to be experienced by the reader: ruined castles, labyrinthine spaces, dungeons, generally any out of the ordinary settings. The characters can also be labeled as bizarre as they are usually eccentric, anti-social , physically unfinished, or have extraordinary opinions.

    Read More

  • Comparing Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher and Taylor’s Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gothic texts are typically characterized by a horrifying and haunting mood, in a world of isolation and despair. Most stories also include some type of supernatural events and/or superstitious aspects. Specifically, vampires, villains, heroes and heroines, and mysterious architecture are standard in a gothic text. Depending upon the author, a gothic text can also take on violent and grotesque attributes. As an overall outlook, “gothic literature is an outlet for the ancient fears of humanity in an age of reason” (Sacred-Texts). Following closely to this type of literature, Edgar Allan Poe uses a gloomy setting, isolation, and supernatural occurrences throughout “The Fall of the House of Usher”.

    Read More

  • What Is The Seclusion In The Strange Case Of Dr. Jeyll And Mr. Hyde

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    This section shows how characters are emotionally isolated which is an element of gothic literature. Not only do the people around the protagonist choose to isolate themselves, but he partakes in it too, as he judges them for their own lack of social behavior. The fact that there is a great amount of opportunity to do so also reinforces how far they have brought their minds into seclusion.

    Read More

  • Gothic Elements

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gothic elements are used to show suspense, symbolism, and drama, while also setting dark and twisted tones about the story and its characters. In the passage "The Fall of the House of Usher" the author uses Gothic elements to entice the reader with details of ominous character persona and setting.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices of Gothic Literature

    1438 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gothic literature was developed during the eighteenth and nineteenth century of the Gothic era when war and controversy was too common. It received its name after the Gothic architecture that was becoming a popular trend in the construction of buildings. As the buildings of daunting castles and labyrinths began, so did the beginning foundation of Gothic literature. The construction of these buildings will later become an obsession with Gothic authors. For about 300 years before the Renaissance period, the construction of these castles and labyrinths continued, not only in England, but also in Gothic stories (Landau 2014). Many wars and controversies, such as the Industrial Revolution and Revolutionary War, were happening at this time, causing the Gothic literature to thrive (“Gothic Literature” 2011). People were looking for an escape from the real world and the thrill that Gothic literature offered was exactly what they needed. Gothic literature focuses on the horrors and the dark sides to the human brain, such as in Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein. Gothic literature today, as well as in the past, has been able to separate itself apart from other types of literature with its unique literary devices used to create fear and terror within the reader.

    Read More

  • The Black Cat And The Landlady: Key Elements Of Gothic Literature

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Key Elements of Gothic Literature Jasmine Giles People enjoy reading gothic literature due to its heart rate exciting nature. Without having to engage with any real danger, it is common for the reader to feel anxiety and impaitence when reading gothic fiction. In order for the reader to feel these emotions, the author uses certain elements, such as a gloomy setting and old-fashioned dialoge. In the stories “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart”, by elgar allen poe, and “The Landlady”, by Roland Dahl, there are many similarites that remanticize the idea of horror and mystery. Some elements, however, bring out the disbolical horror of gothic literature: the setting, characterization, and the motif of suspense.

    Read More

  • The Gothic Novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    Older Gothic literature was in castles and deserted buildings. Modern Gothic novels were written in more populated areas. Another text that can be classed as ‘Gothic’ is the novel ‘Frankenstein’. The reason for it being a ‘Gothic’ novel is the way it has a mutant character. Frankenstein is a mutant and is made by a crazy scientist ‘I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of.

    Read More

  • The Devil And Tom Walker Gothic Elements

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gothic Elements are vital to the foundation and development of Gothic Literature. These element provide a sense of realness and depth to a story. These Elements include death, entrapment, and fascination with the past.

    Read More

  • American Gothic Essay

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gothic writing was usually written in mysterious and ominous tine. Most Gothic novels were filled with death and terror. The authors of Gothic novels most commonly filled their books with omens and foreshadows, showing the dark side of mankind.

    Read More

  • The Gothic Features of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

    3199 Words  | 7 Pages

    After much danger and possible exploitation, she is rescued by a good, pleasant young man who falls in love with her,. Gothic novels are always very dramatic and mysterious, with a great deal of detailed description and suspense. tension. Then there is the. Charlotte Bronte did not perhaps aim to write a Gothic novel.

    Read More

  • Southern Gothic Characteristics

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    Writers concocted these wild, frightening but also interesting scenarios , in which mysterious secrets and no supernatural occurrences. Writers were drawn to the element of gothic or what they

    Read More

  • Essay On Gothic Storytelling

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gothic storytelling is a form of writing that usually includes horror, death, and romance. People write gothic style for the thrill of having a little bit of scariness in their story. Gothic style can be shown through the imagery and themes. The Fall of the House of Usher and Crimson Peak are two stories that show gothic writing though the imagery of the houses and supernatural.

    Read More

  • American Gothic Essay

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Gothic literature there are few important characteristics that act as the backbone of the plot and many of the circumstances. For example alienation, transgression, and supernatural (symbolism). Alienation can be defined as emotional isolated or dissociation from others. Alienation helps with character development. For example, a character being separated from their loved ones physically and mentally which cause them to feel isolated from the society and develop a new characteristic. Having a new characteristic usually lead to transgression, transgression is the violation of a particular moral or breaking rules in the society. Most of the time it happens to the protagonists of the story, a protagonist is “the main character in a story, novel, drama, or other literary work, the character that the reader or audience empath...

    Read More

  • Poe's The Black Cat as Gothic Literature

    428 Words  | 1 Pages

    A work of Gothic Literature is one that contains at least some of the following qualities: a serious tone; ruins, a castle, or a dark, melancholy setting; scenes involving dungeons, underground passages, crypts, basements or attics; shadows, a beam of moonlight in the blackness, a flickering candle, or the only source of light failing; extreme landscapes, like rugged mountains, thick forests, or icy wastes; omens and ancestral curses; magic and/or the supernatural; a villain-hero or villain who loses the self or self-control; a curious heroine with a tendency to faint and a need to be rescued-frequently; a hero whose true identity is revealed by the end of the novel; and horrifying (or terrifying) events or the threat of such happenings. Poe's work includes many of these aspects of Gothic works.

    Read More

More about Damsels: The Role Of Isolation In Gothic Literature

Open Document