Gothic glossary Flashcards
Plot device where protagonist develops a second half (evil) which embodies negative characteristics of protagonist.
double
a state in which one is not sexually active
chastity
a medieval concept, by Gothic period, that has evolved to mean gentlemanly behaviour towards women.
Chivalry
Double-sided or contrasting aspects existing within the same person, object or subject
Duality
Descriptive feeling of a strangeness, weirdness or uncomfortable familiarity; uncanny
eerie
Belief in fated
Fatalism
Pointlessness of acting in the face of overwhelming external events; closely linked to fatalism
Futility
Hero in Gothic text, function is to battle evil or supernatural elements and triumph over them, usually rescuing the Gothic heroine in the process
Gothic hero
Sense of fear that arises from witnessing a gruesome event or spectacle
Horror
A society in which men control both the laws of public life (through government, for example) and conventions of the home (by acting as the head of the family)
Patriarchal society
A world view seen entirely through a male perspective; commonly viewed in patriarchal societies.
Phallocentrism
Descriptive of a fantastical or supernatural occurrence
Phantasmagoric
A form of psychological therapy developed by Sigmund Freud in early 1900s which is based on the belief that the source of unhappiness stems from painful memories which the human mind has tried to forget or ‘repress’
Psychoanalysis
An observation and reason, rather than belief or superstition to reach conclusions
Rationality
Cultural period (mid-18th century - mid-19th century) which valued personal, emotional responses to art and the natural world over more rational attitudes of Enlightenment
Romantic period
Mixed awe and terror in the presence of magnificent natural landscapes; the concept was first explored by Romantic philosopher Edmund Burke
Sublime
Beyond or outside the bounds of natural laws; ‘beyond’ or ‘over’ nature
Supernatural
A sense of fear that arises from anticipation of impending danger
Terror
Period spanning 17th - 18th centuries which argued that rationality and reason should be used to form one’s world view rather than a religious belief in God or a mystical belief in supernatural forces
Englightnement
A person, object or situation which one finds either strangely familiar or unfamiliar
Uncanny
A demon who forces himself on a mortal woman as she sleeps
Incubus
Permanent institution in Catholic Church charged with the eradication of heresies
Inquisition
Tsvetan Todorov theory of The Marvelous vs. The Uncanny
The Marvelous –> supernatural accepted
A psychological perversion where one gains erotic pleasure by having pain inflicted on them
Masochism
