Gothic Wider Readibg Questions Flashcards
Define liminality
Occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold
What was the title of the first gothic novel?
The castle of Otranto
When was the first gothic novel written?
1764
What is the uncanny?
The psychological experience that something is ‘strangely familiar’, where a familiar thing or event from the past is encountered in an unsettling or taboo context
What is the abject?
An extension of the ‘uncanny’, referring to something that is neither ‘self’ nor ‘other’ but the straddles the boundary between human and monstrous, when we can no longer determine the difference between self and other
What is the grotesque?
Something, normally a character, which is monstrous and repellent but also inspires sympathy
Define pathetic fallacy
A literary device when natural features are given human characteristics or are used to reflect a mood
Define symbolism
An image that represents an idea or a theme
Define phallic
Images that resemble a phallus/ erect penis
Define yonic
Images that resemble the vagina or vulva
What characterises Enlightenment thinking?
A belief that rational, logical, and scientific thought is superior to imagination or emotive experience
What is the distinction between terror and horror?
Terror is the dread before a gruesome encounter; horror is revulsion experienced when confronted with something gruesome
Who first distinguished terror from horror?
Ann Radcliffe
Define the sublime
A term that refers to a vast and powerful natural setting that inspires feelings of awe, fear, and a realisation of human insignificance
Who first introduced the concept of the sublime?
Edmund Burke
What is romanticism?
A literary movement characterised by heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual’s expression of emotion and imagination, rebellion against established social conventions and power structures
What is the other?
Something that is not the ‘self’ - something foreign or monstrous
Define fin de siècle
Relating to or characteristic of the end of the nineteenth century
Define atavism
A fear of regressing to a past state of being
What is the Madonna/ Whore dichotomy?
Two types of female characters, either pure and virginal or evil and sexualised
What is a femme fatale?
A seductive female character who lures men into dangerous or compromising situations
Give an example of a damsel in distress from any gothic novel
Matilda- The castle of Otranto
Emily- The mysteries of Udolpho
Antonia- The monk
Mina or Lucy- Dracula
Catherine Earnshaw- Wuthering Heights
Define transgression
An act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct
Define blasphemy
The action or offence of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things
