SPOTTING THE GOTHIC
Here's a handy checklist of attributes that indicate you're reading a Gothic novel.
□ A virtuous young woman who's prone to quoting poetry and/or singing music while deep in the woods (not unlike Snow White), and equally prone to fainting and/or falling unconscious (also not unlike Snow White).
□ A handsome man with a mysterious background who shares the heroine's love of poetry and/or music and/or the forest.
□ A sinister-looking villain (almost always male, usually foreign, and — gasp! — Catholic) who's out for money (especially if the heroine is loaded and an orphan)
□ Some sort of crumbling castle or abbey or convent—really any kind of once-majestic building now in ruins.
□ A supernatural being (a ghost, a talking portrait, a giant statue that kills people by dropping helmets on them) that makes life difficult. Bonus points if the supernatural element is revealed by the end of the book to be not supernatural at all.#4550•
Chapter 2
HORROR VS. TERROR
In an 1826 essay, Ann Radcliffe wrote:
"Terror and horror are so far opposite, that the first expands the soul, and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life; the other contracts, freezes, and nearly annihilates them."
In other words, terror was high art, meant to shake the reader alive. Terror is standing on the edge of a cliff, feeling both fear and the overwhelming beauty of the scene in front of you. Horror pushes you over that cliff, leaving no appreciation for beauty or the sublime, just sheer and blinding fear followed by blood and guts.
For Radcliffe, horror was low art, a bomb that destroys feeling, leaving the reader numb—and something true writers shouldn't aspire to.
Fortunately, not all writers of the Gothic agreed!#4541•
Chapter 3
She lived a life that contained remarkable success and intense sorrow; she endured tremendous personal loss and knew passionate love. For Shelley, death and romance were never far apart. It's no wonder that she defined what Gothic literature looked like for those who came after her…and it's no surprise that numerous books and films have been written about her macabre-laden life.
She was the original Goth girl.#4547•