Gothic concepts

Femme Fatale

A seductive and powerful woman embodying femininity and sexuality, challenging Victorian societal norms and patriarchal power.

Ecriture Feminine

Literary genre rejecting societal structures to reclaim the female body in writing and engage in gender discourse, coined by Helene Cixous in 1976.

Liminality

Describes things on the boundary between extremes, creating uncertainty and ambiguity, both physically and metaphorically.

The Grotesque

Focuses on distorting the human body in literature to evoke sympathy and disgust in readers.

The Uncanny

Freudian theory (1919) describing the feeling of encountering something familiar yet unfamiliar and different.

The Double/Doppelgänger

Represents a literal or symbolic double embodying good-evil duality, exploring human duality and self-division.

The Abject

Term by Julia Kristeva (1980) describing something provoking disgust, fear, or repulsion, often used in Gothic literature.

Orientalism

Coined by Edward Said (1978), contrasting the 'Orient' with the West as mysterious, barbaric, seductive, and dangerous.

Terror vs Horror

Terror is intense dread at the possibility of something frightening, while horror is the shock and repulsion of seeing the frightening thing itself.

Sublime

Concept by Edmund Burke (1757) expressing delight from overwhelming terror, often inspired by nature's grandeur.

Damsel in Distress

Beautiful female figure in peril, serving as the object of desire and allowing male characters to assert their masculinity by rescuing her.

Supernatural

Paranormal elements haunting protagonists, providing entertainment and cultural commentary.