Dark Romanticism

Among the later-eighteenth-century development of British literature, one notable phenomenon is the rising of Gothic novel, or the novel of 'terror'. In the context of the Romantic period, Gothic fiction captivates readers probably because it always reminds them of the medieval past and the irrational and naive responses to the invisible beings. Is Gothic fiction worth canonizing and deserving the name of 'literature' when Gothic fiction tends to be associated with dark elements such as fear, terror and horror? For most people, Gothic fiction seems particularly suited to the temporal possession for passing leisure time, and then it is piled up even around the corner of the lavatory!Truly, this kind of popular literature appeals to large numbers of people and influences a large portion of population of the world, but it is not credited accordingly. The present thesis begins with the analysis of 'Dark Romanticism'—the romantic and realistic features of the ideology of Gothic novels, and aims to discover the valuable relic of this literary genre. Romantic elements show the affinity between Romantic poetry and Gothic fiction, in which many Romantic manifestos are typified. Realistic features indicate the social significance of this literary genre. By employing the extreme cases of terror and inhumanity, Gothic fiction expresses the unspeakable reality and releases the suppressed desires of English people.The dissertation consists of four chapters. Based on a thorough survey of both the positive and negative studies on Gothic fiction, Chapter One serves as an introduction of the background, significance and aim of the present research and contents of the dissertation.Chapter Two elaborates on the expression and expansion of Romanticism in Gothic ideology. Readers can trace in Gothic fiction such typical manifestation of Romantic ideology as the full play of imagination, the worship of nature, the hatred of city, and the rejection of industrialization and science. Romantic features show that Gothic fiction bears similarities with romantic poetry, which is Romanticism expressed in fiction form.In Chapter Three, the focus is on the dark side, or the irrational elements in Gothic contexts. Realistic features indicate that Gothicists tend to combine the terror tales with a representation of the English society and the mind of the English people, especially the anxieties and expectations of the rising class. The strategy adopted in this part is to represent the milieu where Gothic fiction rises and falls in a historical and cultural perspective. The American and French revolutions broke out in succession abroad. Besides, the Reign of Terror in the aftermath of French Revolution shocked the English monarch and aristocracy. The military conflict between Britain and France increased. Domestically, the Industrial Revolution brought great impact to English society, resulting in the rise of the bourgeoisie and working class. The novels of terror thus can be interpreted as the allegory of cultural and political upheaval in this nation. Gothic fiction is conceived to be more than a consumable pastime. In order to show how Gothic novels are deeply rooted in English society, Gothic classics as well as bestsellers are exemplified. They are Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, Matthew Lewis's The Monk, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus and Charles Maturin's Melmoth, the Wanderer.The last chapter sums up the major findings, implications, as well as limitations of the dissertation. By analyzing both the Romantic and realistic ideology of English Gothic novels, the writer of this thesis expects to convince people that Gothic classics can be canonized and defined as a literary asset. The suppression imposed on Gothic novels, in fact, originates from the bias that there are highbrow and lowbrow types of literature. Writers and readers who favour popular literature do not have to apologize or feel ashamed for their devotion to it.