Gothic Themes, Settings, and Figures | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Gothic Themes, Settings, and FiguresINTRODUCTION
REPRESENTATIVE WORKS
PRIMARY SOURCES
OVERVIEWS
HAUNTED DWELLINGS AND THE SUPERNATURAL
PSYCHOLOGY AND THE GOTHIC
VAMPIRES
FURTHER READING

Introduction

Gothic literature has influenced and inspired several subgenres of literature, including the supernatural tale, the ghost story, horror fiction, and vampire literature. Many critics have analyzed the connections between these subgenres and the Gothic tradition, as well as some of the most widely-discussed themes, figures, and settings found in Gothic literature and works in these various subgenres.

While belief in the supernatural served as the basis for the mythologies of early civilizations, and afterward remained an enduring aspect of world folklore, it was not until the nineteenth century that a substantial body of works evolved that focused upon the otherworldly as a source of horror. Although Gothic novelists often included supernatural incidents in their works, they also pursued other concerns, particularly those related to eighteenth-century morals and manners. Such concerns precluded the single-minded focus and inventiveness of their successors in portraying weird and ghostly phenomena. The Gothic novel was characterized by intricate but often loosely constructed plots and subplots, stock characters such as the naive young woman and the lascivious male villain, and a medieval setting, such as a haunted, ruined castle.

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