OCR Literature- The Gothic

What was the pre-Gothic characterised by?

The philosophy of the sublime, an interest in the medieval, and the need for a national identity.

What fears were exploited in the pre-Gothic era?

Corruption of power and religion, xenophobia, and the supernatural.

When did the pre-Gothic era start and end?

1721-1763

When did the early Gothic period start and end?

1764-1788

What were the influences on the early Gothic period?

A continued interest in the middle ages, and a taste for sentimental literature. The industrial revolution had only just begun.

When did the high Gothic period start and end?

1789-1813

What influences were there on the high Gothic period?

Revolutionary events abroad and political unrest at home. The industrial revolution was at its height

When did the late Gothic period start and end?

1814-1838

What influences were there on the late Gothic period?

Movements of social change and activism swept through Britain. The industrial revolution was coming to an end.

When did the post Gothic era start and end?

1839-1898

What were the influences on the post Gothic era?

There was a Gothic resurgence (known as the Neo-Gothic) which ran alongside the work of writers such as Dickens and Poe who were beginning to develop psychological thrillers and ghost stories.

What is the definition of the Gothic genre?

Literature that combines fiction, horror and romanticism, feeding on a pleasing sort of terror. It questions the boundaries of civilisation and morality, the limits of man kind, and whether there is anything else out there.

What did Robert Hume state was the relationship between the Gothic and the use of atmosphere?

"The gothic is defined by its use of a particular atmosphere for essentially psychological processes"

What did Robert Hume state the Gothic aims to do?

"Gothic texts attempt to immerse a reader in an extraordinary world in which ordinary standards and moral judgements become meaningless and good and evil become intertwined"

What did Robert Hume state the Gothic is?

"Gothic literature is a gloomy exploration of the limitations of man kind"

What is anagnorisis?

A change from ignorance to knowledge

What are binary opposites?

Contrasting pairs

What is catastrophe?

An event causing great and usually sudden damage or suffering, and denouncement of a drama leading to a final resolution.

What is catharsis?

The process of releasing, and therefore providing release from, strong or repressed emotions

What is dislocation?

The deliberate notion of crafting an unstable or unreliable narrative in order to make a sense of unease or confusion prevail

What is doubling?

Dividing a character or narrative in two to provide a parallel.

What did doubling allow Victorian writers to do?

Express their anxieties about the blending of social, political, racial, and economic classes.

What is eerie?

Subverting faith in the beneficence of social institutions and rationality, usually through exploiting religious or political dread, in order to induce a feeling of cosmic dread.

What is entrapment?

Being confined or trapped

What is the effect of using entrapment?

Claustrophobic tension.

What is ethereal?

Something not of this earth, heavenly

What is eponymous?

The term applied to a central protagonist who gives their name to the title

What is a grotesque?

Comically or repulsively ugly

What is a hamartia?

A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine

What is hubris?

Excessive pride or self-confidence

What is an idealist?

Someone who envisions an ideal world rather than the real one, someone in possession of noble ideals

Which psychological model is explored within the Gothic?

Freud's model of the subconscious mind (ID/Ego/Superego)

What is an interpolated narrative/Intertextuality?

A way of revealing information to the audience that adds significance to the narrative(and exclude the characters from the knowledge) as a way to challenge moral messages expressed in the novel

What is the ineffable?

The taboo or the sacred, often used in relation to secrecy as a way of exposing the hypocrisy of moral standards.

What is liminality?

Being on a boundary between two things, often between two extremes.

What is a materialist?

A person who considers material possessions and physical comfort more important than spiritual values.

What is melodrama?

A dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions.

What is metamorphosis?

To transform from one being to another.

What is a myth?

A story that is not true and deals with the supernatural and the ideas of creation.

What is naturalism?

The belief that everything arises from natural properties and causes, and supernatural/spiritual explanations are discounted, creating the illusion of reality through dramatic texts.

What is a predator?

A Gothic villain who is rapacious and wants to corrupt the innocent victim.

What is recidivism?

From the Latin to "fall back", relapse into bad behaviours.

What is a revenant?

A visible ghost, or reanimated corpse, that returns from the grave for revenge.

What is a sensational text?

A text designed merely to appeal to the emotions.

What is the sublime?

A powerful feeling of awe and terror inspired by nature.

What is topography?

Natural and manmade features of a geographical area.

What is a tragic protagonist?

A literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to their destruction.

What is the uncanny?

Produces feelings or unease, awe, or discomfort, its unsettling nature is in its familiarity to us.

What are unities?

Produces feelings or unease, awe, or discomfort, its unsettling nature is in its familiarity to us.

What is vertiginous?

Tending to induce dizziness.

What are the two types of Gothic protagonists, and what is the difference between them?

Archetypal (whose purpose is to defeat the antagonist)

Byronic hero (who can often be mistaken for the antagonist)

What are the 9 characteristics of an archetypal Gothic protagonist suggested by Beard and Bunton?

Some degree of tragic stature, High social status, Are somehow foreshadowed by doom from the beginning of the text, Have a tendency to be influenced by the past, Possess considerable powers (e.g.- beauty, knowledge, superhuman strength), Have a striking physical presence , A strongly sexual element about them, Driven by some all-consuming passion or obsession, A connection with the exotic or non-human

What are the general characteristics of an archetypal Gothic protagonist?

The Archetypal protagonist is one that suffers mentally, alternating between depression and bouts of mania. They tend to be hiding a secret about themselves and this often leads to their destruction.

When did the Byronic hero first appear in Gothic literature?

In Lord Byron's semi-autobiographical poem "Childe Harolde"

What did Lord Macaulay say about Byronic heroes?

"A man proud, moody, cynical, with defiance on his brow"

What did Caroline Lamb say about Byronic heroes?

"mad, bad, and dangerous to know"

What are the characteristics of a Byronic hero?

Disrespectful of social rank, Cynical, Arrogant, Rebellious, May be treated as an outcast, Moody, Cunning and adaptable, Mysterious and charismatic, Seductive and sexually attractive, Tends to repulse the reader at first but gain their sympathy towards the end, Obsessed, Seductive, Rebel, Dangerous, Trouble makers, Angsty and troubled, Can be "fixed" by a woman

What are the four types of woman Kate Millet says women in the Gothic fall into?

The immoral and dangerous seductress

The eternally dissatisfied shrew

The cute but essentially helpless victim

The unworldly, self-sacrificing angel

Generally, what are the two types of women in the Gothic and what is the difference between them?

The Victim- The trembling victim is characteristically frail, blonde, passive, and wide-eyed. Often appears in the role of the pursued maiden, fleeing a rapacious and predatory male.

The Female Predator- A complete contrast to the victim, she is usually dark haired, red-lipped, often wears a black or red dress, and is curvaceous. She may be presented as a dangerous and rapacious creature, offering a very real sexual threat.

Why are female predators unsettling for the audience?

They bring unsettling images of female sexual aggression and illicit desires. In this way, they represent the emancipated woman who is no longer prepared to conform and submit to male control.

What does the use of a catholic country as a setting signify in the Gothic?

Often signifies a motif of an innocent travelling to a foreign, uncivilised land. It will also hint at the power of a corrupt religion or power structure. They're often set at contrast with the Protestant England of the 1700s, and its inhabitants are portrayed as hostile, treacherous, passionate, and threatening. In general, there tend to be themes of repression, temptation, and sin.

What does the use of a barren wasteland as a setting signify in the Gothic?

A lack of social laws, exposure, and stagnation of action. The infertile lands suggests a rule of death over life.

What does the use of the underworld of a city as a setting signify in the Gothic?

The underworld of the city is used as a symbol of moral degradation, illness, lawlessness, sin, corruption, and the hypocrisy of Victorian society.

What does the use of a sublime landscape as a setting signify in the Gothic?

Recognition of a higher power than your own. The realisation of human insignificance inspires awe and terror, and it rejects the Age of Enlightenment's need for clarity.

What does the use of a dark, inhospitable forest as a setting signify in the Gothic?

A complete lack of escape, and a potential for the uncivilised to rule and the civilised to be defeated. It has its roots in the time before the Age of Enlightenment, when people believed that supernatural creatures took refuge in the woods.

What does the use of a crumbling castle or ruined abbey as a setting signify in the Gothic?

The threat of unknown histories, death, and decay, and a deterioration of the world as we know it.

The vertiginous architecture, which denotes both heavenly inspiration and a dizzying effect, suggests the opportunity for secrets and imprisonment, as well as an overarching theme of corruption, or the mixing of the divine and the profane.

How is weather used in the Gothic?

To mirror and magnify the feelings of the protagonist, to establish themes or moods, and to contribute to the action of a story (e.g.- through foreshadowing or claustrophobic tension)

"One man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of...

...the knowledge which I sought, for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our race" (Walton)

"The innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future...

... lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me" (Victor)

"It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my being;

all the events of that period appear confused and indistinct" (Creature)

"I tried, therefore, to dress my food in the same manner, placing it on the live embers...

...I found that the berries were spoiled by this operation, and the nuts and roots much improved" (Creature)

"But it was all a dream; no Eve soothed my...

...sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was alone" (Creature)

"I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants and...

...have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery." (Creature)

"I am malicious because I am...

...miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?" (Creature)

"Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate; I desire, therefore, in this narration,

to state those facts which led to my predilection for that science" (Victor)

"By degrees I made a discovery of still greater moment. I found that these people...

...possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by articulate sounds" (Creature)

"This was indeed a godlike science, and...

...I ardently desired to become acquainted with it" (Creature)

"I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted...

...upon me; I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge." (Creature)

"They consulted their village priest, and the result was that Elizabeth Lavenza became the inmate of my parents' house--my more...

...than sister--the beautiful and adored companion of all my occupations and my pleasures." (Victor)

"Everyone loved Elizabeth. The passionate and almost reverential attachment with...

... which all regarded her became, while I shared it, my pride and my delight" (Victor)

"I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine--mine to protect, love, and...

... cherish. All praises bestowed on her I received as made to a possession of my own." (Victor)

"No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which she...

...stood to me-my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only" (Victor)

"The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. It was a most beautiful season; never did the...

...fields bestow a more plentiful harvest or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage, but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature" (Victor)

"His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his...

...features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God!" (Victor)

"but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery...

...eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set" (Victor)

"I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that...

...I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart" (Victor)

"but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they...

...became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms" (Victor)

"Dear mountains! my own beautiful lake! how do you welcome your wanderer? Your...

...summits are clear; the sky and lake are blue and placid. Is this to prognosticate peace, or to mock at my unhappiness?" (Victor)

"During this short voyage I saw the lightning playing on the summit of Mont Blanc in the most beautiful figures. The storm appeared to approach rapidly, and, on landing, I...

...ascended a low hill, that I might observe its progress. It advanced; the heavens were clouded, and I soon felt the rain coming slowly in large drops, but its violence quickly increased" (Victor)

"While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with...

...a hasty step. This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits" (Victor)

"and the deformity of its aspect more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly...

...informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy daemon, to whom I had given life" (Victor)

"The appearance of Justine was calm. She was dressed in mourning, and her...

...countenance, always engaging, was rendered, by the solemnity of her feelings, exquisitely beautiful" (Victor)

"I recollect you once remarked that if you were in an ill humour, one glance from Justine could dissipate it, for the same reason...

...that Ariosto gives concerning the beauty of Angelica--she looked so frank-hearted and happy"

"Inspirited by this wind of promise, my...

...daydreams become more fervent and vivid" (Walton)

"I try in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it...

...ever presents itself to my imagination as the region of beauty and delight" (Walton)

"and I assure you I love her tenderly. She is...

...very clever and gentle, and extremely pretty" (Elizabeth/Justine)

"Monster! Ugly wretch! You wish to eat me and tear me to pieces. You are an...

..ogre. Let me go, or I will tell my papa" (William)

"In spite of my malignity, it softened and attracted me. For a few moments I gazed with...

...delight on her dark eyes, fringed by deep lashes, and her lovely lips" (Creature)

"but presently my rage returned; I remembered that I was forever deprived of...

...the delights that such beautiful creatures could bestow" (Walton)

"her eyes were dark, but gentle, although animated; her features of a regular...

...proportion, and her complexion wondrously fair, each cheek tinged with a lovely pink"