Elements of the Gothic - PowerPoint Presentation

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Elements of the GothicSlide2

1. Setting in a castle.

The action takes place in and around an old castle, sometimes seemingly abandoned, sometimes occupied. The castle often contains secret passages, trap doors, secret rooms, trick panels with hidden levers, dark or hidden staircases, and possibly ruined sections.

The castle may be near or connected to caves, which lend their own haunting flavour with their darkness, uneven floors,

branchings

, claustrophobia, and mystery. And in horror-gothic, caves are often seem home to terrifying creatures such as monsters, or deviant forms of humans: vampires, zombies,

wolfmen

.

Translated into modern filmmaking, the setting might be in an old house or mansion--or even a new house--where unusual camera angles, sustained close ups during movement, and darkness or shadows create the same sense of claustrophobia and entrapment. The house might be already dark, perhaps because it was abandoned, or it might begin light and airy, but either night comes and people turn off the lights to go to bed, or at some dramatic point the lights will fail (often because of a raging storm).Slide3

2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense.

The work is pervaded by a threatening feeling, a fear enhanced by the unknown. This atmosphere is sometimes advanced when characters see only a glimpse of something--was that a person rushing out the window or only the wind blowing a curtain? Is that creaking sound coming from someone's step on the squeaky floor, or only the normal sounds of the night? Often the plot itself is built around a mystery, such as unknown parentage, a disappearance, or some other inexplicable event. People disappear or show up dead inexplicably. Elements 3, 4, and 5 below contribute to this atmosphere.

In modern novels and filmmaking, the inexplicable events are often murders. The bodies are sometimes mutilated in ways that defy explanation--"What kind of monster could do this?" or "Here's the body, but there's no blood." When the corpses start to mount, suspense is raised as to who will get killed next. (In filmmaking, the atmosphere can be created largely by the music. Anyone who has watched a horror movie with the sound off or very low knows this.)Slide4

3. An ancient prophecy An ancient prophecy is connected with the castle or its inhabitants (either former or present). The prophecy is usually obscure, partial, or confusing. "What could it mean?" In more watered down modern examples, this may amount to merely a legend: "It's said that the ghost of old man Krebs still wanders these halls."Slide5

4. Omens, portents, visions. A character may have a disturbing dream vision, or some phenomenon may be seen as a portent of coming events. For example, if the statue of the lord of the manor falls over, it may portend his death. In modern fiction, a character might see something (a shadowy figure stabbing another shadowy figure) and think that it was a dream.Slide6

5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events. Dramatic, amazing events occur, such as ghosts or giants walking, or inanimate objects (such as a suit of

armor or painting) coming to life. In some works, the events are ultimately given a natural explanation, while in others the events are truly supernatural.

6. High, even overwrought emotion.

The narration may be highly sentimental, and the characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror. Characters suffer from raw nerves and a feeling of impending doom. Crying and emotional speeches are frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common. In the filmed gothic, screaming is common.Slide7

7. Women in distress.

As an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the female characters often face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming, and/or sobbing. A lonely, pensive, and oppressed heroine is often the central figure of the novel, so her sufferings are even more pronounced and the focus of attention. The women suffer all the more because they are often abandoned, left alone (either on purpose or by accident), and have no protector at times. (In budget horror-gothic, when the guy tells the girl, "Stay here; I'll be right back," you pretty much know that one of them will soon be dead.)

8. Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male.

One or more male characters has the power, as king, lord of the manor, father, or guardian, to demand that one or more of the female characters do something intolerable. The woman may be commanded to marry someone she does not love (it may even be the powerful male himself), or commit a crime.Slide8

9. The metonymy of gloom and horror. Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). For example, the film industry likes to use metonymy as a quick shorthand, so we often notice that it is raining in funeral scenes. Note that the following metonymies for "doom and gloom" all suggest some element of mystery, danger, or the supernatural. Slide9

10. The vocabulary of the gothic.Slide10
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Gothic Motifs

A motif is a repeated theme, image, or literary device. Look for these common supernatural/Gothic motifs in the Romantic works we will read.Slide13

Forbidden Knowledge or Power/ Faust MotifThis motif takes its name from the German gothic legend of

Dr. Faustus, who sold his soul to the devil to obtain power and knowledge forbidden to ordinary humans. Forbidden knowledge/power is often the Gothic protagonist's goal. The Gothic “hero” questions the universe's ambiguous nature and tries to comprehend and control those supernatural powers that mortals cannot understand. He tries to overcome human limitations and make himself into a “god”. This ambition usually leads to the hero's “fall” or destruction; however, Gothic tales of ambition sometimes paradoxically evoke our admiration because they picture individuals with the courage to defy fate and cosmic forces in an attempt to transcend the mundane to the eternal and sublime.

Consider again

Frankenstein’s

quest for the secret of life.Slide14

Beast TransformationsThe protagonist's ambitious pursuit of forbidden powers often results in transformation into a beast/monster. Frequently, this transformation is depicted as a degradation of the protagonist and a loss of humanity (overreaching ambition has caused the protagonist to fall to the level of a beast).Slide15

Demon Lovers/VampiresThe protagonist's fall is sometimes accomplished through a relationship with a “demon lover” who acts as the protagonist's double or alter-ego, leading the protagonist into experiences forbidden by societal norms. The demon lover is frequently female, a femme fatale (fatal or deadly woman) who seduces and entices the protagonist to destruction. While in some cases, the femme fatale seems indicative of the misogyny of patriarchal cultures, in others, the masterful and destroying female seems to enact a fantasy of female empowerment.Slide16

Demons/Devils/Witches/Spirits/AngelsOften symbolize conflicting forces within the human soul. The hero may be tempted by evil spirits or redeemed by good spirits that symbolize the hero's own potential for evil or good.

The picture opposite is an illustration of the three witches from Shakespeare's play Macbeth . Their prophecies inflame Macbeth's ambition to become King of Scotland and inspire him to assassinate the current monarch.Slide17

GhostsGhosts are spirits that can represent some aspect of the protagonist's experience that “will not die,” that cannot be repressed or escaped. For instance, in Shakespeare's play Macbeth , the ghost of Banquo (whom Macbeth has had murdered) returns to haunt Macbeth, suggesting Macbeth's stricken conscience and his guilt over destroying his innocent friend. The painting above depicts the Japanese ghost (

yurei ) of Okiku

, a character of Japanese legend who was murdered by her master.

Okiku

worked as a serving maid in the home of a Samurai (Japanese warrior). When she refused her master's sexual advances, he killed her and threw her body down a well. Every night after her death,

Okiku's

ghost would rise from the well and weep loudly throughout the night. Hearing the continuous weeping eventually drove

Okiku's

murderer mad. Thus,

Okiku's

ghost embodied the murderer's own undying guilt that eventually led to his insanity.Slide18

Dreams/VisionsTerrible truths are often revealed to characters through dreams or visions. The hidden knowledge of the universe and of human nature emerges through dreams because, when the person sleeps, reason sleeps, and the supernatural, unreasonable world can break through. Dreams in Gothic literature express the dark, unconscious depths of the psyche that are repressed by reason—truths that are too terrible to be comprehended by the conscious mind.Slide19

Magic Talismans/ Cursed or Blessed Objects/Holy RelicsMagic talismans may represent supernatural forces or forces within the hero's personality (e.g., the crucifix wielded by vampire hunters against the vampire symbolizes the goodness and self-sacrifice of those who fight the vampire). Cursed and blessed objects can also act as symbols of human duality.Slide20

The Double or Doppelganger (German for “double-goer”)The Doppleganger was defined by

Federick S. Frank as “a second self or alternate identity, sometimes, but not always, a physical twin.Gothic doppelgangers often haunt and threaten the rational psyche of the victim to whom they become attached.

The double motif suggests that humans are burdened with a dual nature, a soul forever divided.

Double characters are often paired in common relationships, such as twins, siblings, husband/wife, parent/child, hero/villain, creator/creature, etc. Consider Frankenstein and his creature as doublesSlide21

Graveyards/Churches/RuinsSuch settings suggest human confrontation with infinite forces (death, spirits, time, etc.).

Haunted Castle/House

The protagonist's castle or home can reflect the protagonist's psychological character. Hidden chambers, subterranean vaults, twisting corridors, and secret passages can symbolize the hidden depths of the mind, unknown aspects of the psyche that are beyond rational control.Slide22

Multiple Narrative/Spiral Narrative MethodThe story is frequently told through a series of secret manuscripts or multiple tales, each revealing a deeper secret, so the narrative gradually spirals inward toward the hidden truth. The narrator is often a first-person narrator compelled to tell the story to a fascinated or captive listener (representing the captivating power of forbidden knowledge). By revealing to us their own souls' secrets, these narrators reveal the secrets of humankind's soul.Slide23

Madness/Madmen/Characters Who Question Their Own SanityMadness suggests humanity's encounter with the fantastic side of existence that defies human reason. Because mad characters are in touch with a deeper reality beyond rational comprehension, they often speak the truths that normal characters wish to deny. Madmen face universal or psychic forces that rational men fear to acknowledge.Slide24

BloodA prominent symbol in Gothic works often intimating the paradox of the human condition; blood can represent both life and death, or both guilt (e.g., murder) and innocence (e.g., redemptive blood).

The picture at right depicts vampire hunters from Dracula thwarting the attack of a female vampire—her innocence and beauty are contaminated by the blood dripping down the front of her gown, evidence of her cruel animal nature.Slide25

Other motifs Other motifs to watch for: murder, innocence victimized by evil, incest,

reversal of values, the Wanderer, the Outcast, mistaken or secret identities, dichotomies (attraction/repulsion, life/death, innocence/evil, nobility/corruption, etc.)Slide26

Summation

Gothic literature pictures the human condition as an ambiguous mixture of good and evil powers that cannot be understood completely by human reason. Thus, the Gothic perspective conceives of the human condition as a paradox, a dilemma of duality — humans are divided in the conflict between opposing forces in the world and in themselves.The Gothic themes of human nature's depravity, the struggle between good and evil in the human soul, and the existence of unexplainable elements in humanity and the cosmos, are prominent themes in many of the works we will study.