The gothic is a very complex and multilayered genre, that is also a very broad stroke, which seems to make it more of an aesthetic or style to a story, rather than a hard set genre. At it’s core though, all gothics are trying to invoke a certain emotion, which is that of unease. This can be as simple as a general uncomfortable feeling, to a full fledged fear, but they all have that aspect of the strange intertwined into the plot or setting. The common method to attain this feeling is using the supernatural, or at least feigning the supernatural, to instill a sense of the unknown and strangeness. It’s this aspect of the gothic that spurred on the horror genre, with it’s themes of monsters and those that hide in the dark. Other themes that
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For them, the setting is tends to be a dimly lit castle or ruin, with a maze of confusing corridors, in contrast with a beautiful picturesque open landscape. This can been seen as mirroring the dark and unnerving tyrant, with the beautiful and pure marginalized women. This allows gothics to make home a place of fear, and foreign lands safe and welcoming, which is in conflict with our own biases. The stories also place the characters in the past, without romanticizing or honoring it. This aids in the feeling of strangeness, as we are only accustomed to seeing the past through rose tinted glasses, with all the filth wiped off. These elements together, give the impression that the victim is isolated, and without hope of being saved. The dreadful castle, imprisoning them, the vast landscapes making them feel alone, and make escape and arduous, or seemingly impossible task, and with no comfort of more modern living. All of these aspects put together, the feeling of the strange or unknown, the “tragic other” trying to escape the tyrant, and the backdrop of the confined and hopeless, lends itself to all but one simple emotion, fear. One wants the victims to succeed, the monster to fail, and everything to be alright, but the stories themselves give out the sense that at any moment, everything can come crashing down and be for naught, and with that almost endless
For them, the setting is tends to be a dimly lit castle or ruin, with a maze of confusing corridors, in contrast with a beautiful picturesque open landscape. This can been seen as mirroring the dark and unnerving tyrant, with the beautiful and pure marginalized women. This allows gothics to make home a place of fear, and foreign lands safe and welcoming, which is in conflict with our own biases. The stories also place the characters in the past, without romanticizing or honoring it. This aids in the feeling of strangeness, as we are only accustomed to seeing the past through rose tinted glasses, with all the filth wiped off. These elements together, give the impression that the victim is isolated, and without hope of being saved. The dreadful castle, imprisoning them, the vast landscapes making them feel alone, and make escape and arduous, or seemingly impossible task, and with no comfort of more modern living. All of these aspects put together, the feeling of the strange or unknown, the “tragic other” trying to escape the tyrant, and the backdrop of the confined and hopeless, lends itself to all but one simple emotion, fear. One wants the victims to succeed, the monster to fail, and everything to be alright, but the stories themselves give out the sense that at any moment, everything can come crashing down and be for naught, and with that almost endless