Concetti Chiave
- The Gothic novel originated in the 17th century, featuring terrifying descriptions, ancient Italian settings, and a sense of mystery.
- Key elements include supernatural themes, complex plots, and flat, stereotype characters, such as cruel men and helpless women.
- The theory of the Sublime, emphasizing intense emotion and terror, heavily influenced Gothic literature, as seen in Edmund Burke's work.
- Nature plays a dual role, both as a source of terror and a refuge from reality, exemplified in Horace Walpole's 'The Castle of Otranto'.
- While the Gothic novel was eclectic in Germany and less popular in France, it found expressions in Spanish and Italian literature through authors like Gustavo Becquer and Antonio Fogazzaro.
What are the origins and characteristics of the Gothic novel?
The gothic novel developed in the XVII century and has this features: terrifying descriptions, ancient Italian setting (expecially ruins or castle full of secret passages), sense of impending danger, use of supernatural, very complicated plot, use of the theory of the double (or the Doppelganger in Germany, i.e. a split personality as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde), flat characters who are stereotypes (the men are cruel and villain while the women are young,shy and helpless) and a sense of mistery.
Theory of the Sublime and Nature
The kind of novel was based on the theory of Sublime, a state of intense emotion connected with the terror: this is the theory of Edmund Burke in his work 'A philosophical enquiry'. The vision of nature upset by terrible storms, volcanoes, high rocks, hurricanes and chasms contributed to create the terror. The nature is also a refugee to escape by reality. The novel which is the originator of gothic fiction was 'the caste of Otranto' by Horace Walpole of 1764 in which he combines the fantastic and the real, the old and the modern novel.
Gothic Novel in Europe
The gothic novel in Germany was eclectic thanks to Ernst Hoffman who tried to explore the regions of the unconscious. In France the gothic novel was not popular but emerged same gothic reasons in the work of Guy de Maupassant 'le horla'.
A Spanish gothic novel was 'leyendas' of Gustavo Becquer and it is pervaded by mystery.
In Italy there were two gothic novelists: Antonio Fogazzaro and Edgar Allan Poe.
Domande da interrogazione
- What are the defining features of a Gothic novel?
Gothic novels are characterized by terrifying descriptions, ancient Italian settings like ruins or castles with secret passages, a sense of impending danger, supernatural elements, complex plots, and the theory of the double. Characters are often stereotypes, with cruel male villains and young, helpless female protagonists, all enveloped in a sense of mystery.
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