The Gothic

The Gothic novel

In the second half of the 18th century, there was a sudden growth in the reading public and in the output of novels, and the creations of circulating libraries to cater for it. A new mode appeared in the field of fiction: the Gothic novel. Among the writers of Gothic novels, there are the resonant names of Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliff, and Mary Shelley. Yet, this genre has for a long time been regarded as a less mature and more sensationalist kind of fiction and as taking the place of a reasoned appeal to the reader’s judgment. The trend only changed in 1970 when Todorov brought it to the attention of the academic critics, making it clear how it was one of the main genres of fiction narrative.

Origins and characteristics

The word “Gothic” dates back to the Renaissance when it was used to mean horrid, barbarous, and superstitious. In other words, it was synonymous with anti-classical or medieval. Gothic novels abandon realistic stories in favor of fantastic and mysterious ones, which have dream and mystery as their great deal. The Medieval Period continues to be related to barbaric customs and to concepts associated with superstition and ignorance. It becomes the inspirer of these stories of magic and adventure, where ancient castles, dark convents, prisons, laboratories, churches, and ruins are the ideal setting for evil characters like ghosts, vampires, and demoniac creatures. Southern European countries, rich in history, know an authentic revival in this context.

Gothic novel and romanticism

The Gothic novel was the prose counterpart of Early Romanticism. It was a kind of revolt against the realism of such writers as Richardson and Fielding. Furthermore, it is not a case that it became popular at the end of the American, French, and Industrial revolutions, as a symptom of the growing anxiety typical of a period during which all established values were challenged. The advent of Enlightenment and Rationalism had created a mechanical world, causing insecurity, anxiety, and fear. These fears are highlighted in the Gothic novel, a narrative genre characterized by a gloomy and mysterious atmosphere, in which writers rediscover the Middle Ages as a period of spontaneity of feelings.

Key works and categories

The Castle of Otranto, published in 1764 by Horace Walpole, was the first evidence of this new literary genre. The subsequent Gothic novels can be divided into two categories:

• Those in which natural causes explain supernatural events at the end
• Those where the supernatural is for real

The most popular Gothic novels, such as The Mysteries of Udolpho, The Castle of Otranto, and The Monk reach peak sales in the last decade of the 18th century, a time during which the process of change involves everyone in a drastic manner causing profound social imbalances. The success of Gothic novels is due to the fact