Northanger Abbey was posthumously published in 1816 and despite this, was also one of the first written by her. It centres around the enlightenment of Catherine Morland, a naïve girl whom has a fascination for the gothic, a motive which is driven heavily throughout the novel, with heavy gothic leanings and imagery preceding over her narration. At the time, it was written as a parody towards the gothic, whilst further highlighting the idiotic viewpoints society held towards gothic literature; yet in by doing so, does this parody lean itself towards a celebration or a condemnation? It can be inferred that through the excessive hyperbole and extended socio-economic allegories, that Northanger Abbey is in fact a true celebration of all things associated with the Gothic. The uses of excessive description and hyperbole in Catherine’s language (especially during chapters 23, 24 and 25) can show in some ways that Northanger Abbey is very much celebratory of the gothic genre.
Two significant gothic works include Bram Stoker’s infamous story Dracula and Christabel a long narrative poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s. This essay will discuss these texts in relation to specific gothic tropes that surround the female protagonists and how they compare and contrast. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a classic example of gothic tropes in literature; published in 1897 the story is set in England and Eastern Europe. The main female protagonist character Miss Mina Murray/Harker is a young meek schoolmistress who marries the male protagonist and both are victimized by Count Dracula. Miss Lucy Westenra is Mina’s best friend and subsequently opposite in characteristics; she is a vivacious young woman who becomes Dracula’s first victim.
Consequently, the young heroine finds herself involved in many embarrassing situations throughout the novel. However, as the story goes on, Catherine eventually learns to distinguish between fantasy and reality and between her own wild imaginings and her intuition. Northanger Abbey has long been considered an ironic parody of the Gothic novel, which was very popular in Austen’s time. The purpose of this essay is to explore the elements of the Gothic novel present in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and to analyze the way in which they have been satirized by the author. Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey: a Gothic Parody The Gothic fiction is a literary genre that combines elements of both horror and romance.
Feminist Approach in Dracula by Bram Stoker In the novel of Bram Stoker women are sometimes portrayed to be pitiful creatures where they need the male protection and care. On the other hand we also see rise the other “New Woman”, contaminated by Dracula where women are created into more sexual and stronger women. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is symbolic of Victorian sex roles and repression, where he shows us two different sides of women and how much threat could they have on a very rational society. Dracula sees women in a lower hierarchy position and also in power where he uses “Lucy and Mina” as a way to try to defeat the group. Practically, the two major female characters, Lucy and Mina, are the ones who are been contaminated and then transformed into vampires: “Lucy Westenra, but yet how changed.
In this amazing poem- The Lady of Shalott is a helpless lady, who is trapped in a tower on the silent Island of Shalott. She is under an unfortunate curse which forbids her to look out of the window towards the beautiful Camelot. The only knowledge she gains is from the reflection of the passing world through a mirror. One day as she entertains herself, weaving a tapestry of excitement that awaits her outside the cold metal bars of the window, she caught a sight a handsome knight passing by. His good looks forced her to say “I’m sick of shadows” and break the curse by leaving the tower, which results to her tearful death.
In this essay I am going to compare and contrast how certain characters are portrayed in the novels Dracula (1897), The Turn of the Screw’(1898) and the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, focusing on physical descriptions, events, linguistic techniques and the significance of symbols whilst also taking into account the historical context of the Victorian period. Looking at my selected poems of Edgar Allan Poe’s work the women, although all adored by the narrators, are portrayed as physically weak as many die from a ‘cold’. This is apparent in ‘Annabel Lee’ where Poe writes ‘That the wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee’. This concept that Annabel Lee died from the mere coolness of the wind seems hyperbolic, which puts emphasis on the fact that women were regarded as incredibly frail. There are no adjectives used to describe the wind as tempest-like or extraordinary, reinforcing the fragility of women.
Despite being written during patriarchal Jacobean society, the protagonist is a female, which is was highly unusual in those days. Of course this protagonist is Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play, through Lady Macbeth's actions we are forced to believe that she is evil. In contrast, the novel John Steinbeck tells a story of dreams, hopes and loneliness. We are introduced to a majorly significant and complex character, named Curley’s wife.
Caitlin Batchelor Dracula and How to Read Literature like a Professor 30 August 2012 Bram Stoker’s Dracula is in a word - perfect. It is the perfect example of gothic literature, and it is the perfect book to apply the techniques for reading like a professor, learned in Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature like a Professor. It is filled with symbols and has hidden themes. As a piece of gothic fiction, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is dark, but after reading How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster Dracula becomes more of a tragic love story fueled by sex and religion containing many symbols that create a new way to view the story. Dracula is a book with many hidden surprises.
“Through Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton, Shelly criticises the masculine qualities and applauds the feminine.” Discuss The novel ‘Frankenstein’ is a traditionally gothic novel and as such contains many conventions of the genre. These conventions include the supernatural, a ‘being’ shown to be rejected by society and many other significant aspects of the genre but most importantly weak women, also known as damsels and victims of the gothic plot and male protagonists who dominate them. Mary Shelley wrote ‘Frankenstein’ in a time period when women were predominantly viewed as submissive, fragile creatures. It is highly possible that this affected the way her characters were written, especially as it meant she was unable to openly write about women as strong, independent humans, nor men as weak and often fallible. The few women that do exist in the novel are ‘idealised’ as a type of perfection of the species.
Thesis and outline to research paper on Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” What makes this short story or novella stand apart from other feminist literature? Gilman’s mixture in style of psychological realism with gothic horror and her clearly yet richly suggestive use of images and setting effectively establishes her meaning while gripping and haunting her reader. I. Introduction Feminist literature American and World in Western civilization Losing impact with an old message 19th and 20th centuries A Doll’s House Story of an Hour II. Thesis Gilman’s artistry Psychological realism, gothic horror, imagery and setting Appeal to reader Uniqueness, freshness III.