3 elements of southern gothic literature

#3 elements of southern gothic literature full#

Peter Lloyd via Unsplash Characteristics of the Gothic Villain or Antagonist

Common Devices, Themes, and Motifs: Curses, prophecies, hauntings, insanity, psychological flips and twists, damsels in distress, women as victims, doppelgГ¤ngers, fallen societies.

Characters, settings, and objects are weighted heavily with symbolic meaning in Gothic literature. The Gothic protagonist is often portrayed as a flawed, lonesome, isolated, or outcast figure who has to overcome obstacles in order to rejoin society.

It's also patriarchal, with men making moves and women reacting to them. Gothic sexuality is usually somewhat repressed-women are expected to be pure and somewhat helpless while men are expected to be quietly predatory. During uptight Victorian times, Gothic lit gave authors and readers an opportunity to explore romance and sexuality, and transgressive thoughts, desires, and impulses, although usually in fairly heteronormative ways.

Explorations of Romance and Sexuality.

Monsters, demons, witches, ghosts, banshees, vampires, and other supernatural creatures often play parts in Gothic fiction. Gothic lit often elicits intense, suspenseful feelings of fear, shock, dread, or disgust in the reader. The past is somehow still living, breathing, and controlling the drama. Common Gothic plots include revenge, familial secrets, prophecies, and curses. In line with its settings, Gothic lit often romanticizes and revisits the past.

#3 elements of southern gothic literature full#

The outside world in Gothic literature is usually portrayed as being a dark, wild, and treacherous place full of wrathful weather, malevolent forests, and ghostly graveyards. You also see dark, cramped, and claustrophobic interiors with hidden doors and secret passageways, settings with hidden skeletons. In Gothic lit, you see lots of haunted houses, cobwebbed castles, derelict churches, and other once-glorious architecture that has fallen into disrepair. вЂњGothicвЂќ also alludes to a style of grand, ornate architecture in France in the 12th century.

'Gothic Fiction' Is Often Called 'Gothic Horror' Elements and Conventions of Gothic Literature