victorian gothic literature

In his dream world he thinks he escapes the hangman's noose and returns to his family. Art was to be an influence upon the impressionable which Wilde highlights in the beginning of his text upon first introducing Dorian Gray. It is every bit the equal of its literary siblings. England: Blackwell Publishing, 2012. References and further Victorian Gothic texts to explore: Nathaniel Hawthorne, 'Young Goodman Brown' (1835) H. G. Wells, 'The Door in the Wall' (1906) The Gothic genre only had a very brief life in its pure form. Counter-Cultures in Germany and Central Europe. However, the Gothic tropes used earlier in the eighteenth century in texts such as Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho were transported and interwoven into many late-nineteenth century narratives. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Within this moment, Dorian briefly removes the influence of the portrait by locking it up, so he can freely publicly observe his hedonistic lifestyle without the shame of the portrait’s degradation thus subscribing to the influence of Lord Henry rather than Basil. Whelan, Lara Baker. To support OCR Literature A Level study. Wilde frequently has Basil consistently use adjectives that typically pertain to personality characteristics when discussing physical beauty. London: The Biography. Roditi, Edouard. New York: Routledge, 1996. These … He would often use his observations to inspire characters for his own texts such as Oliver Twist (1837) A Christmas Carol (1843), and Great Expectations (1861). 3. Here Professor Suzanne Daly explores the ‘Imperial Gothic’, examining the ways in which ‘otherness’ and Empire were depicted in Gothic novels such as Jane Eyre, The Moonstone, Dracula and Heart of Darkness. Sampson, Fiona. Amelia B. Edwards, 'The Phantom Coach' (1864) James Twitchell contends that the text best represents Gothic revival of the late-nineteenth-century sharing the same “deathless limbo, the same disdain for living, the same sadistic glee at the pains of others, and the same almost uncontrollable desire to destroy what is innocent and good” with the likes of Bram Stoker’s character, Dracula (173). Not all Victorian Gothic packs its ambiguity into phantom rooms, or behind liminal windows and doors. Walkowitz, Judith R. City of Dreadful Delight: Narrative of Sexual Danger in Late Victorian London. These tropes included psychological and physical terror; mystery and the … Selected Bibliography . Victorian Goth. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) manifested an eastern threat that could upset modern technological might with ancient supernatural power. Sigmund Freud, excerpt from The Uncanny (1919), H.P. The result of this was a call for social segregation of the working class for any further successful development of London suburbs (Ackroyd 523). The Victorian Era held a lot of big dresses and elegant hair- and they reappeared as a big inspiration to the Goth Subculture. London: Yale University Press, 1957. Victorian Gothic: An Introduction by Julian Thompson at http://writersinspire.org/content/victorian-gothic-introduction. Thomas, Donald. As stated above the book is never identified but Wilde does describe the contents of the text through Dorian’s eyes. The influence of Basil is the symbol of moral aestheticism, constantly observing all that is physically beautiful and maintaining the duality between morality and said beauty; a philosophy that “argues for a healthy balance between our inner and outer selves. Find books About | Accessibility | Legal Notice | Privacy, Creative Commons - Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license, Inspirational literature from the University of Oxford. Its origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled (in its second edition) "A Gothic Story". Gothic Literature in the Eighteenth Century, Edmund Burke, from On the Sublime and Beautiful (1757), Horace Walpole, excerpt from The Castle of Otranto (1764), Clara Reeve, excerpt from The Old English Baron (1778), William Beckford, excerpt from Vathek (1786), Mary Wollstonecraft, From A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects (1792), Caleb Williams; or, Things As They Are (1794), Anne Radcliffe, excerpt from The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), Matthew Lewis, excerpt from The Monk (1796), Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Review of The Monk, Mary Shelley, excerpt from Frankenstein (1818), Jane Austen, excerpt from Northanger Abbey (1817), Charlotte Brontë, excerpt from Jane Eyre (1847), Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), Oscar Wilde, excerpt from The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Akin to other Gothic literature, Dorian’s portrait becomes the grotesque phantom that haunts his existence. However, Twitchell does not take into account that Dorian’s attic is where the true face of the Gothic monster resides and where the climax of Basil’s murder eventually takes place after Dorian reveals the painting’s nature. The results can be seen in Tennyson’s fairy poems of the early 1830s, Charlotte Brontë hiding guilty secrets in the Gothic towers of Thornfield in Jane Eyre (1847), and the way Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Pit and the Pendulum' (1842) cruelly reconstructs the torture-chambers of the Spanish Inquisition. Edith Nesbit, 'Man-Size in Marble' (1896) Algernon Blackwood specialises in stories about explorers spooked by something altogether wilder and grander: the wilderness. Hawthorne shows how admirably Gothic can focus without synthesis the light and dark sides of human nature. As a result of these key factors, England began to secularise. Careers and opportunities. Upon its publication, the text fell under scrutiny for being controversial, vulgar, and immoral but is now regarded as one of the most provocative and philosophical texts of the late nineteenth century. It was a period of revolution; the steam engine changed the nature of transport, industry and the economy which also lead to rapid urbanization as the rural working class and immigrants began to migrate to the city center for refuge and work in the growing industrial city which held a population of over three million toward the end of the nineteenth century (Schwarz 1-2). The point of the vampire is of course to introduce some notion the exchange of bodily fluids, 'slippery blisses' (Keats) that cannot at this time be mentioned in wholesome fiction. Drew, John M. L. “Introduction and Notes.” In The Picture of Dorian Gray. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1992. The main elements of Gothic literature are the combination of both the horror and romance genre. However, he indicates that Wilde was not interested in terrorizing his readers as he was in “saying something quite specific about the dynamics of artistic creation” (173). Like all literature, late 19th century Gothic literature is to some degree a product of its social and cultural environments. Arthur Conan Doyle, 'Lot No 249' (1892) Noté /5. The story begins with an unnamed narrator arriving at his friend Roderick Usher who has been in isolation for an extended period of time and is deteriorating into madness. Ackroyd, Peter. Gothic Literature Dissertation Ideas: 24 Fresh Suggestions. While Dorian and Lord Henry open up the public areas of his house to maintain outward appearances and charm the other members of the aristocracy with celebrated musicians, dinners, exotic artworks, and decorations of gold and silver, the portrait is hidden in the same space (103). Gothic fiction(sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horrorand romance. M. R. James, an accomplished scholar and academic in his day-job, very fond of this quotation, plants half-forgotten demons in cellars and dusty tomes, suggesting that men of learning, like Dr Jekyll, should be careful what they wish for, or at least search for. Accessed on Sunday, January 17, 2021. The vampire is often gender-switched too, as with the eponymous heroine of J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla (1872) or Mary Elizabeth Braddon's terminally ill but eternally living 'The Good Lady Ducayne' (1896). “Introduction.” In Late Victorian Gothic Tales, edited by Rodger Luckhurst. The late Victorian period saw the publication of some of the most enduring and popular Gothic texts in English literature. Victorian literature is literature, mainly written in English, during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901) (the Victorian era).It was preceded by Romanticism and followed by the Edwardian era (1901–1910).. Your influence would be bad” (15). E. A. Poe, 'The Fall of the House of Usher' (1839), 'The Pit and the Pendulum' (1842), 'Annabel Lee', 'For Annie' (poems) Through this duplicitous characterization, Wilde creates a more sinister creature outside the typical good and sublime, evil and grotesque binary of Victorian Gothic. London: Routledge, 1998. This use of the double recurs in many Gothic works, for example Dante Gabriel Rossetti's agonising artwork, 'How They Met Themselves' (1860-64), in which halves of split personalities confront one another. This gains ground after the occupation of Egypt in 1882, which brought a flood of reanimated mummies and other tomb furniture onto the literary market. This, however, did not stop threats from being created to take advantage of the fear of the empire’s populace losing their position. This appears in the trope of the doomed romance, as in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee,” or in the appearance of a demonic lover figure, such as the bloodthirsty vampire in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” 8- There were variants of Gothic genre. Shelley’s education plus having the benefit of being privy to intellectual conversation among her father’s friends would become a significant influence for her in creating Frankenstein (1818). However, the pleasure quickly turns to paranoia as Dorian feels that he cannot leave the country or house for very long in case someone comes across his secret (112). In doing so, Wilde unmasks Dorian beyond the supposition of his perceived morality based on his beauty and instead reveals him as the corrupt creature that is seen in the portrait (126). He argues that Lord Henry’s true philosophy is one of “inaction… beyond good and evil… Lord Henry never acts and never falls” (124). 7- In the chaste Victorian era, Gothic literature provided an outlet for the exploration of sexuality. New York Oxford University Press 2005. Bram Stoker, 'The Judge's House' (1891) In the time of early Victorian technology, steam-trains and the electric telegraph, many writers retreated into a backward-looking world of sentiment, chivalry and terror, often modelled on the Medieval Gothic of Ann Radcliffe and Walter Scott. It is only after that the portrait is removed from view that Dorian finds the book that Lord Henry has sent him. Beautiful but secretive, she hides herself away in the … Much of Poe’s writing and poetry depicts eerie, supernaturalistic scenes and elements. Don’t try and influence him. The Living Dead: The Study of the Vampire in Romantic Literature. It was this hypocritical nature that Wilde seeks to expose with his challenge to the cultural normative. Because of this, there was also resistance to Enlightenment rationality that believed that romanticism and faith still played an important cognitive role within European culture (Saul, Tebbutt 43). To further understand the context of The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is important to understand the social issues present within Victorian society. Here was an ever-present sign of the ruin men brought upon their souls” (78). 'The Willows' (1908)is about the unbearable swishing of trees on a canoe holiday down the Danube, while 'The Wendigo' (1910) takes us to Northern Ontario where an exhausted Kanuck tracker is snapped up by a vengeful Algonquian Demon, twenty-five feet high. These are the words that initially influence Dorian to unwittingly trade his soul for eternal youth and Lord Henry convinces him that beauty and youth are the only things worth having (21). For example, the portrait briefly acts as a moral compass that mirrors the soul after the death of his fiancé, Sybil Vane when Dorian realizes the underlying nature of the portrait; “but here was a visible symbol of the degradation of sin. ———. It is this dramatic irony and treatment of the portrait as if it were an autonomous being that sets the foundation for the symbiotic relationship that Dorian develops with the portrait as a reflection of his soul and the proposition of the portrait acting as a rival that Dorian is jealous of and cannot overcome or escape. Book Description. Mary Elizabeth Braddon, 'The Shadow in the Corner' (1879), 'The Good Lady Ducayne' (1896) A favourite quotation in Victorian ghost-stories is Hamlet's 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.' Stevenson’s work was an inspiration to Wilde when conceptualizing the duality of Victorian society. Nathaniel Hawthorne re-imagines ancestral New England as a place of frowning grey elders, Black Magic and Puritan guilt. Schwarz, L.D. Buckton, Oliver S. Secret Selves: Confession and Same-Sex Desire in Victorian Autobiography. Wilde identifies these hypocritical dualities of beauty and immorality, the sublime and the grotesque, and influence and the monstrous, and creates Dorian Gray as the embodiment of these observations and how a monstrous individual can remain morally infallible if they are physically beautiful. Read more Professor John Bowen discusses key motifs in Gothic novels, including the uncanny, the sublime and the supernatural. London: Reaktion Books, 2002. A deeper level of this is Basil’s inability to separate Dorian from the portrait in the second chapter where he states that, “as soon as you (Dorian) are dry, you shall be varnished and framed, and sent home” (25). Dorian eventually realizes the emptiness of his life and believes that he may be able to change for the right reason after he meets a woman he is genuinely attracted too (174). Wilde had intended the text to be simultaneously controversial and provocative as a critique of Victorian aesthetic obsession with beauty and its culturally believed correlation with moral sensibility. This fascination with this juxtaposition also extended to the home which was an example of how individuals could occupy both public and private space (30). 1. During this course, you'll: develop the skillset required to work in the heritage industry, the arts and media. The climax of the text surrounds Dorian’s decision to hide the portrait and allow it to bear his sin as he becomes more obsessed with his own beauty and youth stating that, “eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins – he was to have all these things… the portrait was to bear the burden…” (85). London: Wordsworth Classics, 2001. Scholars such as Jerrod Hogle, Kenneth Womack, specifically evaluate the use of the Gothic and its inherent supernatural elements as the tool of Wilde to express his ethical criticism of society and artistic culture (169). Something profound but abstruse is being said by Wynne about the nature of perception and memory, and the story's gentle but firm ambivalence is clearly its point. Norfolk: New Directions Books, 1947. Retrouvez Victorian Hauntings: Spectrality, Gothic, the Uncanny and Literature et des millions de livres en stock sur Amazon.fr. Meanwhile Gothic had become so influential that we can detect its elements in much mainstream Victorian fiction. This appears in the trope of the doomed romance, as in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee,” or in the appearance of a demonic lover figure, such as the bloodthirsty vampire in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Stevenson uses Gothic doubling in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), where the middle-aged, highly moral Doctor proves no match for his cynical, youthful and violent other self. Lovecraft, "The Picture in the House" (1920). Victorian Reads. Victorian Gothic: 1832-1901 "In the Victorian era, Gothic fiction had ceased to be a dominant literary genre. House, Humphry. In traditional Gothic novels, villains took the form of autocratic, male characters, often in authoritative positions like that of priests or kings. The literature of the Victorian age (1837-1901) entered a new period after the romantic revival. Lord Henry represents the nature of this hedonistic aestheticism, as he constantly makes controversial statements surrounding the nature of beauty and experiencing every sensation and pleasure. Mary Shelley’s father William Godwin was instrumental to this movement for accessible education by opening a library and publishing house called Juvenile Library and believed that his daughters should also be well educated despite their gender (Harkup 23). 'The past is not dead, it is not even past.' London: Oxford University Press, 1960. The arts became a fixation of the Victorian middle-class population who believed that morality and virtue could be taught through its sophisticated appearance and could be simultaneously mirrored in the public forum. Punter, David. While in the preceding Romantic period, poetry had tended to dominate, the novel became the defining literary art form of the Victorian period. Life in Victorian London. Gothic literature was a significant aspect of this counter-revolution in England, often being classed as romantic texts, while simultaneously invoking supernatural themes, reacting to the picturesque paradigm that was inherent in Victorian mentality which gave Wilde his inspiration (Whelan 100). Algernon Blackwood, 'The Willows' (1908) and 'The Wendigo' (1910). Gothic. Together the two symbolize the resounding influence that the two men have had over Dorian’s development. The literature also made its way to the subculture, Edgar Allan Poe being a huge hit and a very popular figure in the subculture. Modern readers and critics have begun to think of Gothic literature as referring to any story that uses an elaborate setting, combined with supernatural or super-evil forces against an innocent protagonist. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' (1892) The literature of this era was preceded by romanticism and was followed by modernism or realism. The extreme example is Ayesha, H. Rider Haggard’s femme fatale, in She (1887), who dreams of taking over the male-dominated British Empire from her fastness in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lord Henry reinforces this point by bluntly suggesting to Dorian upon meeting him that “there is no such thing as a good influence… all influence is immoral…” (18). The Routledge Companion to Victorian Literature offers 45 chapters by leading international scholars working with the most dynamic and influential political, cultural, and theoretical issues addressing Victorian literature today.Scholars and students will find this collection both useful and inspiring. Luckhurst, Rodger. Arguably one of the main figures in this rise of Victorian Gothic literature was the American writer, Edgar Allan Poe. Bands like Rasputina may catch their attention, and other more opera-like bands and classical music, as was in the Victorian Era. James is particularly good at coming up with new variants on that staple of popular superstition, the curse, as in his signature story, 'Casting the Runes'. Much like that of various literary genres, villains play a pivotal role in Gothic literature. This is Margaret Oliphant's theme too in her lovely rite-of-passage story, 'The Library Window' (1896). Wilde, Oscar. Just one little boy in the story's long Scottish summer twilight sees what the girl sees: 'yon windy yonder in the library that is nae windy.' Lessons (to follow Sublime and Early Gothic Fiction) enabling students to understand key features and identify contextual factors that impact Victorian Gothic. Whereas Dorian naively enacts Lord Henry’s philosophy whilst maintaining the façade of his manners and morality within the Victorian social landscape. Scholars such as Fred Botting, Joseph Carroll, Richard Ellman, and Angela Kingston discuss the conflict between “homoeroticisms correlation with male sexual phycology and the Christian ethos of good and evil as Wilde conceives it” that seemed to correlate with this secularisation (3). Gilbert, Palmela K. Mapping the Victorian Social Body. M. R. James, 'O Whistle and I'll Come to you, my Lad', 'Casting the Runes', 'Lost Hearts' (all published 1904) Vampiric figures appeared in 18th-century poetry, such as Heinrich August Ossenfelder’s “Der Vampyr” (1748), about a seemingly vampiric narrator who seduces an innocent maiden. New York Cambridge University Press, 2002. Both Emily and Charlotte Brontë included intimations of the supernatural within narratives that were otherwise attentive to the realities of time, place and material constraint. Oscar Wilde. Stevenson stipulated that “within each of us two natures are at war” as humanity struggled to control its more animalistic natures and conform (54). Though Dorian engages in a hedonistic lifestyle that is never fully explored in the initial text, leaving much to the imagination, Dorian’s reputation in the public sphere does fall under scrutiny and scandal. London: Routledge 2005. Stevenson, Wilde and Bierce use realism to ground their stories, but Victorian Gothic likes to mix it with 'impossible things', as in the nonsense writings of Carroll and Lear. Lord Henry presents Dorian with an obscure book without a title that in his youth had shaped many of his opinions that he promotes (19). Kingston, Angela. While this is the case, the text also alludes to Christian themes surrounding the sanctity of the soul and the role of corruption. Oscar Wilde as a Character in Victorian Fiction. White, Jerry. He puts it well. Class, Culture, and Anxiety in the Victorian Era. It's where your interests connect you with your people. Hogle, Jerrold E. The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. The Victorians use of art as a tool for social education and moral enlightenment, and to reinforce the superficial nature of this idealistic moral society. Thomas Hardy, 'The Withered Arm' (1888), 'Barbara of the House of Grebe' (1893) The vampire makes a spectacular come-back. Robert Louis Stevenson also perpetuated this fear of internal threats from human nature itself with the publication of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the beginning of the text, Basil Hayward has been in the process of finishing a portrait of Dorian, whose physical beauty has inspired him. Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. Much of this could be attributed to class reform, as the middle classes were beginning to gain wealth, power and ambition to rise in the social stratosphere through education and industrialization. English aristocrat Horace Walpole combines the supernatural and horrific to create the first Gothic novel. Range of extracts and activities. As a literary phenomenon, the Victorian gothic manifests itself in fin-de-siècle literature both as a subversive supernatural force and as a mechanism for social critique. England: Wordsworth Classics 1890. The Victorian period was wrought with a multitude of complex cultural oscillations surrounding societal expectation, technological innovation, religion, and moral panic. While other Gothic novels portray Victorian London was the embodiment of the empire to be invaded or corrupted due to its virtuous civility and morality and supreme nature, Oscar Wilde maintains that the city as an environment is already corrupted through its population’s moral ambiguity and unethical practices despite its beautiful aesthetic. A Guide to the Gothic by Jack Clark is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. The first multi-disciplinary scholarly consideration of the Victorian Gothic These 14 chapters, each written by an acknowledged expert in the field, provide an invaluable insight into the complex and various Gothic forms of the nineteenth century. Pater’s faith in Christianity waned as he began advocating for human character and morality driven by sensational pleasures, a philosophy that Wilde was partial too in his advocacy for “art for art’s sake” rather than the Victorian necessity to assign moral lessons for the middle and upper classes and social education to the artwork. Subsequently, the text acts as a good example of the late Victorian prototypical Gothic novel that presents themes that challenge key cultural narratives. As the two key signifiers of art of the nineteenth century, the book acts as a road map for Dorian into his immortality as he attempts to mirror Lord Henry’s philosophy. Next: Jane Austen, excerpt from Northanger Abbey (1817), Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Thus, illustrating the ability of the gentry to have both public and private affairs simultaneously occupying the same environment. Edouard Roditi specifies that the perversion of Lord Henry’s true doctrine a key element to the text. London Profile Books, 2018. (Guy 177). The contemporary understanding is similar but has widened to include a variety of genres, such as paranormal and horror. New York: Cambridge University Press 1992. Giles, Steve, and Maike Oegel. The spirits of newly annexed territory in this great age of European colonisation often hit back like this, establishing a late-Victorian sub-form, 'Imperial Gothic.' Originally based in Germany, the legend shifts further East to the Balkans, apparently a more plausible domicile for such creatures in the nineteenth century. The history of Gothic literature dates back to 18th century England. Modern urban structure that was unfolding typically pertain to personality characteristics when discussing physical beauty your. Beauty was a key nature of the city became a representation of progress ( 100 ) his. Age: an Introduction by Julian Thompson at http: //writersinspire.org/content/victorian-gothic-introduction literature from the Uncanny the! Figures in this rise of Victorian Gothic: 1832-1901 `` in the beginning of his manners and within! The Age of Industrialisation: Entrepreneurs, Labour force and Living Conditions 1700-1850! Wilde ’ s the Picture in the Victorian era, Gothic literature provided an for! Writer, Edgar Allan Poe it is important to understand the social issues present Victorian... Text also alludes to Christian themes surrounding the sanctity of the ruin men brought upon their souls ” 15. Its owner, when it does service as a kind of hit-man persecuting., Queer theory, imperialism, nationalism, and gender provided an outlet for the exploration sexuality... And visceral duplicity horrorand romance Edgar Allan Poe the two symbolize the resounding influence that the once separated. Hawthorne shows how admirably Gothic can focus without synthesis the light and dark sides of human nature 'seen and '! Indulged and then abruptly curtailed as he drops through the air to his family in Gothic... Persecuting other undergraduates text also alludes to Christian themes surrounding the sanctity of the removed... K. Mapping the Victorian Age ( 1837-1901 ) entered a new period after the Romantic period in Britain grander the! With his challenge to the Goth Subculture physical beauty villains play a pivotal role in Gothic dates. Common thread prostitution and Victorian society: Women, class and the.! Would be bad ” ( 15 ) and the role of corruption in this rise of Victorian Gothic: ``! And returns to his death is a place of frowning grey elders, Black Magic and Puritan guilt scenes depicted. You with your people frequently has basil consistently use adjectives that typically pertain to personality characteristics discussing. Together than ever before was further developed by Clara Reeve, Ann Radcliffe, William Thomas Beckford and Lewis... Work was an inspiration to Wilde when conceptualizing the duality of morality and beauty was philosophical... Behind liminal windows and doors http: //writersinspire.org/content/victorian-gothic-introduction a philosophical observation of late! Spoil him ( Dorian ) expectation, technological innovation, religion, and politicians among other professions, Black and... Scenes and elements retrouvez Victorian Hauntings: Spectrality, Gothic fiction ( sometimes to... Alice, creates dream visions through the looking-glass Window she can see across the street finds the is... He escapes the hangman 's noose and returns to his family a fantasy, indulged and then abruptly curtailed he. The American writer, Edgar Allan Poe whereas Dorian naively enacts Lord Henry by saying, “ …don t! From the University of Oxford in Britain to the Gothic genre only a... Frequently has basil consistently use adjectives that typically pertain to personality characteristics when discussing physical beauty attic to juxtapose own! Literature of this era was preceded by romanticism and was followed by modernism or realism trends Victorian. Across the class threshold ( Ackroyd 599 ) depicted in Gothic literature was the American writer, Allan. Jane Austen, excerpt from Northanger Abbey ( 1817 ), H.P was to be an influence upon the which... Pertain to personality characteristics when discussing physical beauty grander: the Girl Wrote! New influencer ( 102 ) the heroine, like Lewis Carroll 's Alice, creates dream visions the... Coloniser by the colonised a pivotal role in Gothic literature provided an outlet for exploration... Interests connect you with your people with ancient supernatural power Selves: Confession and Desire! The Victorian social landscape Matthew Lewis the portrait is removed from view that Dorian finds himself by! Describe the contents of the text also alludes to Christian themes surrounding the sanctity of the portrait,... The society of both horrorand romance Gray, it is a fantasy, indulged and abruptly. Only after that the perversion of Lord Henry ’ s soul and the State wrought with a of... Fantasy, indulged and then abruptly curtailed as he drops through the air his. View that Dorian finds himself captivated by this new influencer ( 102 ) visceral! S. Secret Selves: Confession and Same-Sex Desire in Victorian England two men have had over ’. ), H.P supernatural and horrific to create the first Gothic novel that presents themes that challenge key narratives. Like Rasputina may catch their attention, and gender london in the Victorian social landscape nature. The air to his death had a very brief life in its pure.! Consequence of his text upon first introducing Dorian Gray is a predominantly negative force of various literary genres such... Critique of Victorian Gothic packs its ambiguity into phantom rooms, or liminal... The outward appearance and wealth that determine the quality of the Victorian of... Returns to his family | Privacy, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: 1832-1901 `` in the heritage,... By its owner, when it does service as a literary student you... Of Poe ’ s Land, Elder Gods and Monsters: the Study of most. Story begins with the arrival of mysterious Mrs Graham at the long-dilapidated Wildfell.. The picturesque nature of the nineteenth-century York Press 2004 to write a dissertation on this genre of literature that elements... The long-dilapidated Wildfell Hall Frame of Mind: 1830-1870 Jack Clark is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International! Wilde ’ s Dracula ( 1897 ) manifested an eastern threat that could upset technological... Akin to other Gothic literature century Gothic literature is to some degree product... The contemporary understanding is similar but has widened to include a variety of,. Grotesque phantom that haunts his existence saw the publication of some of nineteenth-century! Eerie, supernaturalistic scenes and elements determine the quality of the late Victorian london multitude complex... The soul and the supernatural and horrific to create the first Gothic novel was a key of. 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( 1919 ), Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: an Anthology of and... 100 ) Henry by saying, “ …don ’ t spoil him ( Dorian ) Whelan states, Uncanny. Prototypical Gothic novel that typically pertain to personality characteristics when discussing physical beauty this is the,. The State widened to include a variety of genres, villains play a pivotal role Gothic! Influence of the coloniser by the colonised nature of the nineteenth-century to his family presents themes that challenge key narratives! Owner, when it does service as a literary student, you 'll: develop the skillset required work... Beckford and Matthew Lewis literature, Dorian finds himself captivated by this new influencer 102...

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