How Are Women Depicted And Treated In Gothic Literature?
Gothic literature, a subgenre of Romantic literature, was a literary movement of the late 18th and early to mid- 19th century that employed dark imagery, melodramatic narration, and an atmosphere of terror and mystery. Authors of Gothic literature include Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mary Shelley. This genre consistently shows its characters at the whim and mercy of forces which they cannot understand and are powerless to stop. This is especially true of the female characters of Gothic literature, who are portrayed as pure and naïve, unnaturally beautiful, sexually alluring, and fated for tragedy. Examples of such women can be found in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera.
In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the antagonist, the evil and supernatural Count Dracula, is a vampire who must drink the blood of the living in order to stay alive himself. His first victim in the novel is the beautiful Lucy Westerna, whose attractiveness is evidenced by the marriage proposals recently received from three men. Lucy’s innocence and sexual attractiveness is shown simultaneously when she asks her friend Mina “why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble?” (Stoker, 1990, p.268). Under the influence of Dracula, Lucy begins sleepwalking and he overtakes her in a cemetery. Her helplessness is further evidenced when she is given bedrest and blood transfusions under the care of Dr. Van Helsing. When her mother unwittingly removes the cloves of garlic strung about the room, Dracula is able to come to her as a wolf, killing her and sealing her tragic fate.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein portrays women in much the same way. The most obvious example is Justine Moritz, the servant of the Frankenstein family described as “very clever and gentle, and extremely pretty” (Shelley, 1994, p. 121). When Victor Frankenstein’s monster kills William Frankenstein, the monster frames her by putting a photograph William was carrying at the time of his murder in her pocket. She confesses to the murder due to her superstition that those she loves dies because she loves them too much and because the Catholic priest she confesses to advises her she will go to hell if she does not confess. Shelley presents the character of Justine as another beautiful, powerless women of gothic literature.
Finally, one can also find evidence of the classic Gothic female character in Christine Daae in Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. Christine is a beautiful, young singer at the Paris Opera House which has been terrorized by the mysterious Erik, who is the “Phantom of the Opera.” Erik captures Christine seeking to make her fall in love with him. When she escapes, Christine plans to run away to escape Erik for good, but not before performing a final song for him. This reveals Christine’s great capacity for compassion for The Phantom. Later, when she is trapped by Erik again, Christine allows him to kiss her and returns his kiss. When Erik dies, Christine keeps her promise to him to visit his grave and return the ring he gave her. As Erik himself said, “If I am the phantom, it is because man’s hatred has made me so. If I am to be saved it is because your love redeems me,” (Leroux, 1994, p 193). The beauty of Christine’s pure soul caused a change in the monstrous Erik, which is a classic example of the role of women in Gothic literature.
In summary, women in Gothic literature are portrayed as beautiful, pure, and fated for tragedy. Lucy, of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, shows the tragic fate of women in this genre, as she is a beautiful women powerless to the evil and oppressive Count Dracula. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Justine is another example of a pretty, innocent, and naïve woman who suffers a bitter and unjust end. And Christine, of The Phantom of the Opera, shows the purity of women in this genre which is beautiful touch the heart of even the most monstrous of villains. Though this portrayal of women may appear to be sexist of misogynistic from a modern perspective, it is certainly a staple of female character of the Gothic novel.
References
Leroux, G. (1994). The Phantom of the Opera. New York: Puffin Books.
Shelley, M. (1994). Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stoker, B. (1990). Dracula. New York: Oxford University Press.
You’ve read a literature essay sample that demonstrates how an academic paper should be written. However if you can’t handle essay writing, get help from WriteMyPapersOnline. With our help, you can forget about your worries as our writers are professionals in academic writing. All you have to do is to place an order on our site including all your requirements and setting the deadline.