The Origins of the Gothic Novel

Tracey Madeley explores the literary background to these novels of romance, history and horror

The 18th century saw a rise in literacy, especially amongst the middle classes; more people owned and read books, creating not only a market but new opportunities. Daniel Defoe’s The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is generally credited as being the first published novel. However, this was written in the form of a true story or travelogue as, from a religious perspective, fiction was considered a falsehood. During the latter part of the 18th century it is estimated that 200 women wrote books, yet even literary graduates would be hard pressed to name but a few. Like independent authors today, they had neither influence nor money and, what was worse, they were women.

The Age of Enlightenment at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century placed an emphasis on science and reason, and opposed absolute monarchy and the established (mainly Catholic) church. Such ideas as liberty and politics were being championed and challenged by people like Thomas Paine and William Godwin. In contrast, the Gothic novel sought to bring back the emotional and spiritual connection associated with sensibility. Yet such spirituality was not necessarily Christian. Superstitious ideas such as ghosts and evil spirits brought apprehension and fear to the reader.

Gothic imagery was often mediaeval, but the problems it addressed were very modern. Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, published in 1764, is credited as the first Gothic novel. He uses the mediaeval castle of the title as his setting, and includes dark elements of nature, such as the wind and the storm. Manfred is the aristocratic father seeking to secure his bloodline by marrying his son to Isabella, but when his son dies after being crushed by a giant helmet, he considers divorcing his wife and marrying the young woman himself. His paranoia about his continued bloodline stems from a curse which suggests that one day the rightful heir will appear. Capture, imprisonment and death make this story a dark and disturbing tale, yet not a new one. Shakespeare featured Hamlet’s father’s ghost on the castle walls in the play of the same name. Aphra Behn, in The Rover, exposes female vulnerability to male lust with the attempted rape of Florinda.

Devendra Varma suggests that the Gothic form developed in three parallel channels: romantic, which included pastoral scenes and where superstitious dread was explained away; historical, where the supernatural was set against a background of knights and chivalry; and horror, which contained not only psychological terror but also violence and cruelty.

Ann Radcliffe is perhaps the best known of all the Gothic romantic writers. Her novel The Mysteries of Udolpho was written in 1794 and deals with the fate of a young woman, Emily St Aubert, and her imprisonment by her aunt’s husband Montoni. It has been interpreted, like many Gothic romances, as representing the oppression and subjugation of women in the 18th century, even though it was set in 16th-century France. The most disturbing element of the book is the effigy behind the curtain: a grotesque wax effigy used in Catholicism as a reminder of the sinful nature of man. In common with Radcliffe’s other novels, the book also includes long descriptive passages as her heroine tries to flee her captor on foot through the countryside. Most women of this time did not travel extensively abroad, and these descriptions relied heavily on travelogues written by other authors. In her later novel, The Italian, there is again an aristocratic marriage under threat and the imprisonment of both the hero and the heroine. The monk Schedoni is the sinister instrument of the Marchioness’s plotting and is responsible for the heroine’s imprisonment. Subjugation of women is a common theme in Gothic romance, and has been viewed by many female critics as a way for authors to highlight the lack of power and control women had over their lives.

Clara Reeve’s The Old English Baron, published in 1777, could be regarded as more historical and chivalrous with its setting in the 15th century. Sir Phillip returns to Britain to find that his friend Lord Lovel has passed away and been succeeded by his cousin, who has sold the family estate to Baron Fitz Own. Among the Baron’s household is a young peasant, Edward Twyford, who reminds Sir Phillip of his lost friend. Dreams and visions prepare us for the revelation to come, and chivalry takes the form of a dual between Sir Phillip and Sir Walter. This story emphasises the differences between the classes – the aristocracy and the peasants – although there is a suggestion that Edward’s demeanor is superior to his status, which makes the revelation that he is of noble birth no surprise to the reader. Sophia Lee’s The Recess tells the story of twin daughters secretly born to the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots. The portrayal of Elizabeth I as spoilt and vindictive is interesting, as other Gothic novels challenge the established church.

Early Gothic horror took the form of The Monk, by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796. There is more magic, violence and lust in this book than in the previous novels, adding to the sinister darkness of the Gothic genre. Ambrosio is a monk who appears to have forgotten or forsaken his vows; he resorts to rape, poisoning and murder as he continues to provide services such as confession and exorcism for the various characters in the book. This book, perhaps more than The Italian, symbolises the corruption of the established church.

Later Gothic novels such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights concentrate on the psychological nature of man and his darker side, rather than the supernatural. The wild and fanciful nature of Gothic heroines is parodied in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, which favours the Enlightenment approach to explaining the supernatural.

In common with all literary movements, the Gothic novel was a response to a more reasoned and scientific past that sought to explain away all supernatural occurrences. Moving into the 19th century we see Ann Radcliffe’s influence in the pastoral nature of the Romantic poets and Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley novels.