Author: williamw

Within Gothic writing the role of women is traditionally seen as that of the victim, be it of masculine cruelty or supernatural forces. It can be argued that this is the view that is shown within Christopher Marlowe’s play ‘Doctor Faustus’ due to women being portrayed as objects of masculine desire, and therefore become subservient…

Within Gothic writing it may be seen that there is a strong connection between authors’ use of setting and characterisation. It may be argued that the relationship between this pair is the source of the Gothic elements within the narrative. This can be seen within Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ in which setting is used to…

Notably with ‘Doctor Faustus’ Marlowe forms a sense of ambiguity over the role of the protagonist within the play. It may be seen that Faustus fulfils the archetype of gothic villain due to his ruthless ambition and satanic connections. Although, it may in fact be argued that he is a gothic victim rather than a…

A notable theme within Gothic literature is that of entrapment, be it of characters, setting or the narrative itself. This entrapment can take many forms and can have varying significance within individual texts. Within Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, entrapment is both physical and metaphorical, where boundaries and limitations are transgressed and characters are imprisoned within their…

Notably, the distortion and inversion of traditional family structures is a key theme within the narratives of Angela Carter’s collection of short stories ‘The Bloody Chamber’. At times these inversion fulfil the expectations of their gothic genre and portray sinister, almost horrific, family relationships. This can clearly be seen to be the case within the…

The questioning of the validity of religious beliefs and practices, especially those associated with the gothic element of forbidden knowledge, can be seen as the central focus of Christopher Marlowe’s play ‘Doctor Faustus’. This questioning can be seen as exposing the corruptive and paradoxical elements within religion and religious institutions such as the Catholic Church.…

A notably theme within Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ is that of the entrapment and imprisonment, metaphorically and, in some cases, physically, of women. This entrapment may be seen as presenting the disempowerment of women within the novel. This is reflected in the role of marriage in the narrative, especial that of Catherine and Edgar, in…

Within Christopher Marlowe’s play ‘Doctor Faustus’, the protagonist describes the demon Mephastophilis as being a ‘bewitching fiend’. This description seams very apt due to Mephastophilis being a fiend in the literal sense; he is a supernatural creature; a demon and servant of the devil. Indeed, it can be seen that he is bewitching due to…

Notably within gothic writing a common theme is that of the exploration of the unknown. Often the unknown or supernatural is portrayed as being disturbing or horrific; that it is something to be feared and not understood. Arguably this perspective is not shared between all gothic texts, some of which depict creatures and aspects of…

‘It is better that one should suffer than that many should be corrupted’. The idea that the needs of the commerce outweigh the suffering of the individual is prominent within both Orwell’s and Huxley’s novels. They both portray how in oligarchical collectivist societies, individual identity is superseded by the need for social efficiency and stability.…