Gothic Masterpieces: Themes, Characters, and Context

Bram Stoker: Dracula

The Gothic novel was well-established when Stoker began work on Dracula, yet his novel possesses distinct Gothic traits.

Major Themes

• Illness, Madness, and Confinement
• Christianity, Science, and the Occult
• Romantic Love, Seduction, and Sexual Purity
• Life, Death, and the Un-Dead

Literary Devices

The novel utilizes symbolism, imagery, irony, metaphor, and simile.

Key Characters

• Count Dracula
• Jonathan Harker
• Mina Murray
• Lucy Westenra
• Dr. Van Helsing

Romantic Elements

Dracula reflects elements of Romanticism through his supernatural powers and a fascination with youth, innocence, and imagery.

Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray

This work is set in the Victorian Era (1837–1901), which was characterized by sexual restraint, a strict code of conduct, and a low tolerance for crime.

Core Themes

• Eternal youth
• Mortality
• Ethics
• Appearance
• Sexuality and sexual identity
• Hedonism

Literary Devices

Wilde employs foreshadowing, irony, symbolism, personification, and allusion.

Key Characters

• Basil Hallward
• Lord Henry Wotton
• Dorian Gray
• Sibyl Vane
• The devil
• The servants

Romantic Influence

The novel emphasizes freedom and individualism.

Horace Walpole: The Castle of Otranto

Two of the novel’s characters, Frederic and Alfonso, fought in the Crusades—religious wars that the Catholic Church waged against Muslim forces in order to conquer Jerusalem and the Holy Land for Christianity.

Major Themes

• The Gothic and the Supernatural
• The Divine vs. The Mundane
• Lineage and Leadership

Literary Devices

Walpole uses foreshadowing, allusion, imagery, paradox, and personification.

Key Characters

• Manfred
• Isabella
• Conrad
• Matilda
• Theodore
• Friar Jerome
• Alfonso
• Frederic

Romantic Characteristics

The Castle of Otranto is related to Romanticism due to these characteristics: it is repulsive and seductive, unsettling and reassuring, laughable and terrifying, and transgressive and tranquilizing.

Ann Radcliffe: The Mysteries of Udolpho

The stranded boys devolve into two groups, one of which tries to preserve civilized rules and behaviors, while the other becomes barbaric and savage.

Major Themes

• The Mistress of Suspense
• Blinded by Science
• Being Sensible about Senses

Literary Devices

Radcliffe utilizes allegory, foreshadowing, allusion, imagery, paradox, metonymy, and personification.

Key Characters

• Emily
• Monsieur
• Valancourt
• Montoni
• Count Morano
• Annette

Romantic Connections

The link to Romanticism is found in the supernatural occurrences, beautiful countryside, a virtuous heroine, a villain, and ruined castles. Imagery.