The Power Of Characters In Gothic Literature Essay

The Power of Characters in Gothic Literature


Gothic Literature in the nineteenth century was perhaps the most influential of any literary era.   With many major Gothic novels such as:   Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and most notably, Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.   These many famous works have made clear that Gothic Literature is the most famous influential and popular literary era.   In the early 1800?s, Washington Irving wrote one of the most famous works written in the Gothic era.   Sleepy Hollow was found among the pages of the late authors collection of works and was published three years later in 1820.   The story takes place in a small New York State town known as Sleepy Hollow.   The town is haunted by the eerie presence of the notorious Headless Horseman.   The protagonist of the story is known as Ichabod Crane, a very eccentric scientist who was stationed in Sleepy Hollow after being exiled from his town in Northern Connecticut.   Throughout the Gothic era the characters have been most important to the story.   The characters are written in a way that the reader can relate to them and make them feel like they are actually in the story.   The characters of the Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane are two examples of characters that define the Gothic Literary era.

In Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow, the Antagonist is known as the Headless Horseman, a paranormal being that terrorizes the town and beheading all of those who oppose him “…the Headless Horseman, who had been heard several times of late, patrolling the country; and, it was said, tethered his horse nightly among the graves in the churchyard.” (Irving) His gruesome and tragic death dates back the American Revolution.   According to Irving’s story a cannonball dismembered his head.   The legend tells that every night since that day the Headless Horseman goes out in search of his head.   According to Gothic literature criteria, a gothic novel must contain a...