the gothic novel - art martini schio · horror, caused by evil and ... the gothic novel 5. ... and...
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The Gothic NovelJames Ward, Gordale Scar, 1814, London, Tate Gallery.
It came to popularity at the end of the 18th century
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The adjective “Gothic” three connotations
Medieval, linked to thearchitecture of the
12th-14th centuries Irregular, barbarous,
opposed to Classicism
Wild, supernatural,in the sense of
mysterious
1. The origin of the name
The Gothic novel
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The 18th-century society
Industrial exploitation
• Destruction of the single human being
• Man as a slave to forces he could not control
• Gothic symbols as denunciation of social problems
2. Influences
The Gothic novel
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2. Influences
The Gothic novel
• As a celebration of terror
• As a rejection of constraints and limits
• As exploration of forbidden areas
The “sublime”
• Great importance given to terror, characterised by obscurity and uncertainty, and horror, caused by evil and atrocity.
• Darkness necessary ingredient for the mysterious, gloomy atmosphere.
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The Gothic novel
3. The setting
Jonathan Barry, Udolpho Castle, 1993, private collection.
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The Gothic novel
3. The setting• Ancient settings isolated castles
and mysterious abbeys with hidden passages, underground cellars, secret rooms.
• Catholic countries as the setting for the most terrible crimes, due to Protestant prejudices against Catholicism.
A drawing depicting the Gothic staircase at Strawberry Hill, near London.
§ Characters dominated by exaggerated reactions in front of mysterious situations or events.
§ Supernatural beings vampires, monsters and ghosts.
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The Gothic novel
4. The characters
Henry Fuseli (Johann Heinrich Füssli), The Nightmare, 1781, Goethe Museum, Frankfurt
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The Gothic novel
4. The characters§ Sensitive heroes they save
heroines.
§ Heroines stricken by unreal terrors and persecuted by the villains.
§ Satanic, terrifying male characters, victims of their negative impulses.
Henry Fuseli (Johann Heinrich Füssli), The Nightmare, 1781, Goethe Museum, Frankfurt
Semantic areas Words
Mystery enchantment, ghost, haunted, infernal, magic, secret, spectre, vision
Fear/ Terror/ Sorrow
agony, anguish, apprehensions, despair, dread, fearing, frightened, hopeless, horror, melancholy, miserable, panic, sadly, scared, shrieks, sorrow, tears, terror, unhappy, wretched
Haste anxious, breathless, frantic, hastily, impatient, running, suddenly
Anger anger, enraged, furious, rage, resentment, wrathLargeness enormous, gigantic, large, tremendous, vast
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The Gothic novel
5. The language
• Horace Walpole The Castle of Otranto (1764)
• Ann Radcliffe The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794)
• Matthew Lewis The Monk (1796)
• Mary Shelley Frankenstein (1818)
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The Gothic novel
6. First Gothic authors
• Great interest during the 18th century common to all strata of society.
• The features of Gothic novels preserved in modern and contemporary descendents of this genre in the works of:
Charlotte BronteE. A. PoeR. L. StevensonBram Stoker
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The Gothic novel
7. Popularity