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Gothic Novel - OT
Gothic fiction
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Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gothic fiction is an important genre of literature that combines elements of both
horror and romance. As a genre, it is generall believed to have been invented b the
!nglish author "orace #alpole, $ith his 1%&' novel The Castle of Otranto. The effect
of Gothic fiction depends on a pleasing sort of terror, an e(tension of essentiall
)omantic literar pleasures that $ere relativel ne$ at the time of #alpole*s novel.
Prominent features of Gothic fiction include terror +both pschological and phsical,,
mster, the supernatural, ghosts, haunted houses and Gothic architecture, castles,
dar-ness, death, deca, doubles, madness, secrets and hereditar curses.
The stoc- characters of Gothic fiction include trants, villains, bandits, maniacs,
.ronic heroes, persecuted maidens, femmes fatale, mad$omen, magicians,
vampires, $ere$olves, monsters, demons, revenants, ghosts, perambulating s-eletons,
the #andering /e$ and the 0evil himself.
1mportant ideas concerning and regarding the Gothic include2 Anti-3atholicism,
especiall criticism of )oman 3atholic e(cesses such as the 1n4uisition +in southern
!uropean countries such as 1tal and 5pain,6 romanticism of an ancient 7edieval
past6 melodrama6 and parod +including self-parod,.
Origins
1n a $a similar to the gothic revivalists* re8ection of the clarit and rationalism of the
neoclassical stle of the !nlightened !stablishment, the term 9gothic9 became lin-ed
$ith an appreciation of the 8os of e(treme emotion, the thrill of fearfulness and a$e
inherent in the sublime, and a 4uest for atmosphere. The ruins of gothic buildings
gave rise to multiple lin-ed emotions b representing the inevitable deca and
collapse of human creations: thus the urge to add fa-e ruins as ee-catchers in
!nglish landscape par-s. !nglish Protestants often associated medieval buildings $ith
$hat the sa$ as a dar- and terrifing period, characteri;ed b harsh la$s enforced
b torture, and $ith msterious, fantastic and superstitious rituals.
The first gothic romances
The term 9Gothic9 came to be applied to the literar genre precisel because the genre
dealt $ith such emotional e(tremes and ver dar- themes, and because it found its
most natural settings in the buildings of this stle : castles, mansions, and
monasteries, often remote, crumbling, and ruined. 1t $as a fascination $ith this
architecture and its related art, poetr +see Graveard Poets,, and even landscape
gardening that inspired the first $ave of gothic novelists. <or e(ample, "orace
#alpole, $hose The Castle of Otranto +1%&', is often regarded as the first true gothic
romance, $as obsessed $ith medieval gothic architecture, and built his o$n house,
5tra$berr "ill, in that form, spar-ing a fashion for gothic revival. 1ndeed 7argaret
0rabble suggests in the The Oxford Companion to English Literature +ed.6 =th > &th
1
"Gothic_fction." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 22 Nov. 2011. <Reference.com
http://www.reference.com/browse/Gothic_fction>.
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Gothic Novel - OT
edns, +1@A=, ?BBB,, that the term *Gothic* originall meant medieval, as in Castle of
Otranto, a Gothic Tale.
#alpole*s novel arose out of this obsession $ith the medieval. "e originall claimed
that the boo- $as a real medieval romance he had discovered and republished. Thus
$as born the gothic novel*s association $ith fa-e documentation to increase its effect.
1ndeed, The Castle of Otranto $as originall subtitled 9A )omance9 : a literar
form held b educated taste to be ta$dr and unfit even for children, due to its
superstitious elements : but #alpole revived some of the elements of the medieval
romance in a ne$ form. The basic plot created man other gothic staples, including a
threatening mster and an ancestral curse, as $ell as countless trappings such as
hidden passages and oft-fainting heroines.
1t $as ho$ever Ann )adcliffe $ho created the gothic novel in its no$-standard form.
Among other elements, )adcliffe introduced the brooding figure of the gothic villain,
$hich developed into the .ronic hero. Cnli-e #alpole*s, her novels, beginning $ith
The Mysteries of Udolpho +1%@',, $ere best-sellers, although along $ith all novels
the $ere loo-ed do$n upon b $ell-educated people as sensationalist $omen*s
entertainment +despite some men*s en8oment of them,.
1n ickens and !is "eaders# $spects of %o&el Criticism 'ince ()*+, George ". <ord
4uoted George .orro$, $ho $rote in 1A3A that 9!verbod $as in raptures over a
certain Oliver T$ist that had 8ust come out.9 )eaders of the time, far from being
dismaed b the dar- 4ualit of the boo-, loved it.
The world of Oliver Twist is indeed a grim one. 0ic-ens manages to contrive happ
endings for most of the deserving characters, ho$ever6 and although Oliver*s escape
from the slums is more or less miraculous, he clearl hopes to improve the chances of
orphans li-e Oliver b opening the public*s ees to their vulnerabilit and suffering. 1n
Oli&er T,ist, the ga;e of -no$ing ees can be a po$erful force. <agin, $ho for
decades manages to conceal his criminal activities, ends up s4uirming in the 9living
light9 of too man ees as he stands in the doc-, a$aiting sentence. #hen 5i-es -ills
Nanc, the memor of her ees continues to accuse him even after he has fled the
scene. 3harlie .ates turns his bac- on crime $hen he sees the murderous cruelt of
the man $ho has been held up to him as a model. #ith Oli&er T,ist, 0ic-ens invites
the public to become similarl enlightened.
!dger /ohnson2 OT D A 0ar- Novel2 +Charles ickens# !is Tragedy and Triumph-
E<rom the sunn landscape of Pic-$ic-, no more than dappled $ith shado$, Oli&er
T,ist plunges into a confined $orld of dar-ness, and oppressive, lurid intensit from
the $or-house to the criminal slum and the 8ail. 1n its heart lur-s the smo- and fetid
thievesF -itchen $here the Artful 0odger leers and <agin grins in mirth through the
greas air. Almost all its interiors are blea- and gloom2 the $or-house $here half-
starved bos $himper $ith hunger in the bare stone hall and scra$n hags hang over
the beds of the ding, the peepholed bac- room of the Three 3ripples, the ruined
$arehouse $here 7on-s terrifies .umble b night. !ve $hen Oliver rests asleep at
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Gothic Novel - OT
7rs. 7alieFs 8ust beond the $indo$ loom <agin ad 7on-s, dar-ening the sunlight
li-e t$o monstrous demons. The ver outdoors huddle under a heav s- of evil.
Nanc lur-s in blac- shado$ on the slim steps of Gondon .ridge6 5i-es $anders in
horror-haunted flight a$a from and bac- to the cit, the $aving torches glimmer on
the mud of <oll 0itch $hile the murderer clambers over the titles of the barricaded
house. And the end narro$s in relentlessl $ith <agin co$ered in the condemned cell,
gna$ing his nails and glaring at the close $all.H
Gothic elements in OT2
7r. 5o$erburrFs shop2 chapter =2 e-te(t2 Iunfinished coffinF D entire shop is
described in gothic stle.
The description of coffin, dangers chimne s$eep $or-, 5o$erburrFs
profession of underta-ing etc fills Oliver $ith a feeling of a$e and dread.
5cene of meeting bet$een 7on-s and .umbles2 The description of the house
reminds of PoeFs IThe house of the CsherF2 3"APT!) JJJK111 2 $rapped in
shabb outer
<aginFs hideouts, Three 3ripples $here criminals meet, burglar at night,
sudden appearance of <agin and 7on-s outside the $indo$ etcL.