On The Inheritance And Breakthrough Of Gothic Fictions In The Vampire Diaries

Lisa Jane Smith is an American female writer of young-adult-themed literature.The Vampire Diaries is one of her representative works. Since its publication oftrilogy in1991, the novels have won wide readership across the globe.This thesis conducts an analysis of The Vampire Diaries from a new perspective,considering it transcends the form of Gothic novel, and explores the inheritance andbreakthrough of Gothic features in The Vampire Diaries, focusing on its theme,characters, then plots development.On the fiction theme, The Vampire Diaries inherits the Gothic theme of horror,love, and conflicts between good and evil; but further develops the above themesthrough combination of modern elements and fantasy. For the vampire image andcharacterization, The Vampire Diaries still possesses the vampire image and power intraditional Gothic novels, and brings more distinctive vampires’ supernatural powerand unique behaviors. Compared with traditional Gothic vampire stories, the plot ofThe Vampire Diaries gets more involved and more twisted scenario.As the representative work of modern vampire fictions, The Vampire Diaries’inheritance and breakthrough of Gothic fictions in turn brings itself huge success andgreat reputation. And as the sub-genre of Gothic fiction, vampire fictions will belongstanding and get prosperous due to its unique features and cultural backgroundin today’s developed society.