The Gothic Elements of Rebecca and Dracula
Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, both possess many of the 9 characteristics that commonly identify a Gothic Novel. These characteristics all play a unique role in the plot and story of any piece of Gothic literature. While both books portray elements and qualities linked to those of a Gothic novel, Dracula displays these traits in a much more prominent way than Rebecca.
One of the key characteristic of Gothic literature is the use of supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events, which can be seen throughout Dracula in multiple cases, whereas it is seldom used in Rebecca. Jonathon first witnesses these types of events when he sees Count Dracula doing something he cannot possibly …show more content…
Throughout the book Stoker draws out long, dramatic moments allowing suspense to build and create riveting and thrilling moments and sections in the book. As Jonathon explores Castle Dracula in Dracula, He makes a daring decision and states “A wild desire took me to obtain that key at any risk, and I determined then and there to scale the wall again and gain the Count’s room. He might kill me, but death now seemed the happier choice of evils” (Stoker 52). Stoker uses those 2 sentences to increase the amount of suspense dramatically as Jonathon makes the journey across the walls just after that statement. Dracula also displays mystery and suspense in other ways. As Jonathon is going to find the key to escape Castle Dracula he comes to large room he had previously visited filled with boxes of earth but observes “The great box was in the same place, close against the wall, but the lid was laid on it, not fastened down, but with the nails ready in their places to be hammered home. I knew I must reach the body for the key so I raised the lid and laid it back against the wall; and then I saw something which filled my very soul with horror” (Stoker 52). By taking a more detailed approach and spending time explaining in detail the room and its exact traits, Stoker fills the atmosphere with mystery and suspense. Stoker does a phenomenal job in creating and building suspense in his novel, though du Maurier also crafts scenes in Rebecca that are remarkably suspenseful. One of the most striking examples comes when the narrator had just awoken from a terrible night at a dinner party the night before, and Mrs. Danvers, the head housekeeper, tries to coerce her to jump to her death, whispering “Go on…Go on don’t be afraid” (Du Maurier 251). as the narrator stands on the edge of the window, prepared to end her life. In that section of the book the
Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, both possess many of the 9 characteristics that commonly identify a Gothic Novel. These characteristics all play a unique role in the plot and story of any piece of Gothic literature. While both books portray elements and qualities linked to those of a Gothic novel, Dracula displays these traits in a much more prominent way than Rebecca.
One of the key characteristic of Gothic literature is the use of supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events, which can be seen throughout Dracula in multiple cases, whereas it is seldom used in Rebecca. Jonathon first witnesses these types of events when he sees Count Dracula doing something he cannot possibly …show more content…
Throughout the book Stoker draws out long, dramatic moments allowing suspense to build and create riveting and thrilling moments and sections in the book. As Jonathon explores Castle Dracula in Dracula, He makes a daring decision and states “A wild desire took me to obtain that key at any risk, and I determined then and there to scale the wall again and gain the Count’s room. He might kill me, but death now seemed the happier choice of evils” (Stoker 52). Stoker uses those 2 sentences to increase the amount of suspense dramatically as Jonathon makes the journey across the walls just after that statement. Dracula also displays mystery and suspense in other ways. As Jonathon is going to find the key to escape Castle Dracula he comes to large room he had previously visited filled with boxes of earth but observes “The great box was in the same place, close against the wall, but the lid was laid on it, not fastened down, but with the nails ready in their places to be hammered home. I knew I must reach the body for the key so I raised the lid and laid it back against the wall; and then I saw something which filled my very soul with horror” (Stoker 52). By taking a more detailed approach and spending time explaining in detail the room and its exact traits, Stoker fills the atmosphere with mystery and suspense. Stoker does a phenomenal job in creating and building suspense in his novel, though du Maurier also crafts scenes in Rebecca that are remarkably suspenseful. One of the most striking examples comes when the narrator had just awoken from a terrible night at a dinner party the night before, and Mrs. Danvers, the head housekeeper, tries to coerce her to jump to her death, whispering “Go on…Go on don’t be afraid” (Du Maurier 251). as the narrator stands on the edge of the window, prepared to end her life. In that section of the book the