Gothic Fiction is a sub-genre of Prose, born from Romanticism that became popular in the Eighteenth Century.
‘Gothic’ originates from teh ancient, barbaric Germanic tribe, the Goths, who contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. Gothic architecture was named after them as an insult.
Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, is attributed as the first gothic novel, mainly due to its Gothic architecture.
There is no defining definition of Gothic Literature, but this one serves quite well:
Gothic texts are, overtly but ambiguously, not rational, depicting disturbances of sanity and security, from superstitious belief in ghosts and demons, displays of uncontrolled passion, violent emotion or flights of fancy to portrayals of perversion and obsession. Moreover, if knowledge is associated with rational procedures of enquiry and understanding based on natural, empirical reality, then gothic styles disturb the borders of knowing and conjure up obscure otherworldly phenomena or the ‘dark arts’, alchemical, arcane and occult forms normally characterised as delusion, apparition, deception. Not tied to a natural order of things as defined by realism, gothic flights of imagination suggest supernatural possibility, mystery, magic, wonder and monstrosity. Gothic texts are not good in moral, aesthetic or social terms. Their concern is with vice: protagonists are selfish or evil; adventures involve decadence or crime. Their effects, aesthetically and socially, are also replete with a range of negative features: not beautiful, they display no harmony or proportion. Ill-formed, obscure, ugly, gloomy and utterly antipathetic to effects of love, admiration or gentle delight, gothic texts register revulsion, abhorrence, fear, disgust and terror.’
Fred Botting, Gothic: Second Edition (2014)
Gothic Fiction texts deal with some or most of the elements above and merge with other genres. Much celebrated Romance texts like Wuthering Heights are classed as Gothic Fiction.
It was a counter-culture to what dominated literature at the time.
When we read, we get a sense of foreboding.
Settings
- old, rundown buildings like castles and mansions
- hidden passages, trap doors, dungeons, secret rooms.
- Bleak Environments
- dark forests, mountanous, isolated, and usually bad weather.
- Shadows, flickering candles, darkness.
The Supernatural
- a key element to gothic literature
- it is evoked directly or indirectly.
- it is a tool to build suspense
- often includes omens, curses, magic, manifestations or the uncanny.
Emotions
- high emotions triggered by terrible events
- characters are passionate, strong willed, defy others. Men storm and rage. Women faint.
- A focus on emotional response, rather than rational response.
Science
- some invovle science as a key component. Contextually, thre was a fear that science would replace God.
Motifs
- strange places
- transition or change
- power and powerlessness
- uncertainty
- the uncanny
Tropes
The uncanny The doppelganger or two split - investigate the right word.
tag #genre-gothic-fiction #characters #the-picture-of-dorian-gray links Gothic Literature
Gothic Characters
Protagonist (antihero)
- hidden secrets
- isolated or alone
- emotional unease and tension
- high social status
- psychological conflict and inner termoil
- suffer a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall.
- They do things that the reader knows to be wrong or morally dubious.
- It creates ambiguity in whethere the character is good or evil.
Females
- either the predator
- attractive, powerful, portrays the pleasure/pain paradox.
- or helpless woman
- fragile, vulnerable, frightened, suffering from illness, to be rescued as the prize.
Creepy Aristocrat
- rich, old and isolated.
- Mysterious, evil and dangerous A supernatural, evil figure An innocent victim
- usually a young girl, who may be protected by her innocence.
TURNING POINT THREE
Leon discovers his diving capabilities have been exponentially expanded. Suunto tries to end the contract but Ms. Penumbra exerts her control. Leon dives with Nort, but struggles to remain tethered to The Real. They discover a devotee, mostly eaten away by The Jade Rhino. Leon senses salvation in the terror. Leon interviews the mark, steals his Abstract imprint, and creates a representation of him to use to infiltrate ImpCorp, with the help of Nort and his devotees. Having established a stronger tether, he seeks out the consiousness of his mother, from his memory of her. He connects momentarily before the Jade Rhino appears to devour him. Leon willingly abandons The Real.
STEP ONE
Leon visits an associate, Variel, a biological adaption specialist, about his upgrades. Leon realises his capacity for diving deeper and the urge to abandon The Real will be greater. They talk of his new memory, The Abstract and The Jade Rhino cult. Leon must return to Nort to help him test the capacity of his upgrades and prevent him from abandoning The Real.
CDQ - Will Leon be able to resist the urge to abandon The Real with Nort’s assistance?
STEP TWO
Ms. Penumbra surprises Leon by arriving at his consultation and they talk of memory and loss. Suunto arrives to reassert their boundaries, but Leon senses Ms. Penumbra is not tamed. Ms. Penumbra reveals complex ImpCorp security arrangements, that Leon he has a meeting with his ‘mark’ in an hour and a reduced job timeframe. Suunto asserts the job is off, until Ms. Penumbra whispers a word to her. Leon knows he must do the job to protect Suunto, absorb the personality of their mark quickly and find Nort. He knows it is not enough time, but must do what he can to be ready.
STEP THREE
Leon deep dives with Nort in his apartment. They ruminate on his new capacity and what it reveals about the nature of The Abstract and Leon struggles to remain tethered to The Real. Leon and Nort dive into The Abstract and find what remains of one of Nort’s devotees. His memories have been devoured by The Jade Rhino: Leon feels his salvation. Leon is confused by The Jade Rhino. His rational mind fears it, but his addiction pulls him to the oblivion it offers. He knows he must find a way to remain tethered to The Real, resist the pull and focus on absorbing the Mark.
STEP FOUR
Leon arrives late, triggering the team’s memory of his previous failure. Leon manages to analyse the Mark’s personality, but is distracted by his recent Abstract experience. He leaves Princess and the Mark while Leon infiltrates the Mark’s apartment with Jemmy to absorb his living context. Leon insists Jemmy retrieve the Mark’s Abstract footprint herself. He doesn’t trust himself to dive without Nort, which raises her suspicions of his addiction. Leon must return to Nort to decipher the Mark’s Abstract footprint and find a way to regain control of himself in The Abstract.
STEP FIVE
Leon meets Nort and his devotees at the church with the contents of his Mark’s Abstract imprint. He develops an imperfect personality to use to infiltrate ImpCorp, based on the Mark’s Abstract experiences. With renewed confidence in his control in The Abstract, he returns to the memory of his mother. He pushes to connect with his mother’s conscious, but the Jade Rhino appears. Overcome, he willingly abandons The Real: dismissing Suunto, the team and Impcorp, to be consumed.
CDQ Answer - Yes, Leon is able to establish a tether to The Real, with Nort’s help, but The Jade Rhino
CA - Leon moves from excited and nervous — to — filled with both fear and rapture at the presence of The Jade Rhino.
Moral Dilemma:
- Abandoning the impossible ImpCorp mission and protecting Suunto by taking on a high-risk infiltration, with little preparation.
- following his desire to dive with Nort and protecting the fragile trust his team has shown in him.
Whether to trust Nort to help him tether to The Real, when he worships The Jade Rhino.
Abandoning The Real when the Jade Rhino appears - he does without much struggle…
check where she lives. is it impcorp or away from it? I suggest away from it, but close to facilitate the plot.
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