More Gothic elements

In my previous posts, I have written about the Gothic elements by discussing the tropes that exist in novels. Now, I would like to look at the basic elements that build this genre as a whole.

First, I will start with the Gothic setting. The Gothic novel is an architectural genre that relies on the use of medieval castles, cathedrals, cemeteries, and other haunted settings (such as mansions).

Even in more modern forms of the literature, the “castle” is depicted through the use of the haunted house (mostly because Americans don’t have castles).

Essentially, when Horace Walpole wrote The Castle of Otranto, England was going through a time period known as the Gothic Revival and it was vital to the creation of this form of literature. The castle in Walpole’s novel is used as a tool to drive the plot since the architecture embodies the curse on Manfred’s family and it houses supernatural events throughout the text.

In Stoker’s Dracula, the castle is used to house the vampire in a similar way and it represents an architectural nexus to the past. The Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining may not be a literal castle, but it also has the same approach.

Although the Gothic novel heavily relies on the setting, I would also like to discuss the importance of Romanticism in the genre. The Romantic era is a literary period that begins towards the end of the 1700’s and lasts through the 19th Century.

This period is also known to include famous poets like Byron, Coleridge, Keats, and Percy Shelley. In essence, the Romantic era refers to picturesque settings to portray the exotic as well as horror and terror which is seen in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein when Victor ends up in the arctic.

After the setting and Romanticism, I would like to explain the importance of divine power. This element has a lot to do with the apparitions and supernatural powers that are often portrayed in the Gothic genre. In addition, they are used as tools against evil like in Stoker’s Dracula where crucifixes, holy water, and blessed wafers become weapons against the vampire.

Apart from divine power, there is one more part of this genre that creates a sense of awe and fear in each Gothic story. This element is known as Orientalism. The concept of this term was introduced by Edward Said and also written about in Linda Nochlin’s The Imaginary Orient. 

Essentially, it is the idealized portrayal of Eastern, “exotic” cultures by the West in literature and art. Usually, it reinforces negative stereotypes and depicts the East as barbaric and promotes the West. 

For example, this concept is seen in Bram Stoker’s Dracula since the vampire comes from the exotic East and is depicted as violating the West once he shows up in England. By the end of the novel, it is the Westerners that triumph over the Eastern vampire.

Altogether, the Gothic genre is full of several complex elements that have continued to build and add on to this vast collection of literature. I also believe that it is this particular structure that keeps readers like myself enthralled in the world of imagination.

Terror in the Gothic novel

In Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, certain elements are used in order to establish the motifs of a gothic romance while providing scenes that evoke terror within the individual characters. According to Barbauld, terror is described to be a part of tragedy – a concept that is administered in the first chapter of Walpole’s novel. 

Essentially, chapter one of The Castle of Otranto begins with the tragic death of Manfred’s son, Conrad. In addition, Walpole uses this scene to introduce the supernatural side of the Gothic novel through the presence of a gigantic falling helmet which happens to land on Conrad, killing him instantly.

Apart from this bizarre death, Walpole presents his readers with an ancient prophecy that foreshadows the tragic and terrifying events of the novel which says “That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it” (Walpole 14).

By introducing this prophecy, Walpole establishes the impending doom that is about to strike the people that dwell in the castle of Otranto. With the combination of prophecy and tragedy, Horace Walpole fills his novel with terror through the representation of danger and fear.

With the idea of claustrophobia in mind, Walpole is able to induce panic within Manfred’s mind since his sense of freedom is confined within his own walls. On the other hand, Isabella experiences her own share of dread since she is being chased by the prince of Otranto and she too loses freedom since she is forced to flee from the castle. Between the two characters, Manfred and Isabella experience what Barbauld would describe as “the pain of terror” which promotes widespread fear throughout Horace Walpole’s novel (213).

Apart from Conrad’s death scene, The Castle of Otranto quickly moves on to another situation that evokes a feeling of terror through the use of gothic props. For example, when Manfred is pursuing Isabella, he comes across an apparition that leads him into a chamber and traps him inside it. This entrapment allows Walpole to generate fear in Manfred since the concept of claustrophobia, as well as a feeling of powerlessness to the extraordinary events around him, are overwhelming.