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The reason why the Gothic fiction emerged and flourished in the eighteenth century is that there existed particular roots in the aspects of society, history and culture. The essential factor lies in the challenge against Rationalism by Romanticism. Renaissance in European countries has developed humanism into its full fledge, which eventually, through allying with Reformation, overwhelms the tyranny and dictatorship of Roman Catholics. Romanticism has become the rage, resisting severely against Rationalism and Neoclassicism, which dominated the whole literary world then. Gothicism is a special branch of the movement, defined by critics as the "Dark Romanticism", playing its unique role distinctively in the swim. (Li, 2006:9)
The most profound impression that the Gothic novel brings to readers is grotesquery and terror. Next, let’s know about the main characteristics of the traditional Gothic elements.
Firstly, from the view of the plot, the biggest feature of traditional Gothic novel is grotesquery. Through detailed analysis of the traditional Gothic fiction, it is not hard to find that grotesquery mainly lies in communication between human beings and ghosts, connection between reality and fantasy, and resurrection. In Gothic novels, not only can people communicate with devils freely, but they can make contracts. What is much stranger is they can even be in love. The love between human and ghost is considered as the most fantastic thing with great mystery. What’s more, there are still descriptions of direct connection between the earth and the hell where a man alive enters the hell. However, what’s the most unexpected thing in the traditional Gothic novels is the story of resurrection. As is known to us, it’s impossible to raise from the dead: While the traditional novels deviate from this norm and focus on the description of the process of resurrection. What is worth of noting is the grotesquery in the gothic novels has a close relationship with terror. Terror is also one of the most important elements that can’t be ignored when it comes to grotesquery. This kind of terror stems from the whole process and the result of an event. Terror is the main theme of the works, and it often permeates in all aspects of the work rather than exist in just some part of the work. The terror of the event and the horrifying scene determines the characteristics of the Gothic novels. The Gothic novel is a typical narrative work controlled by terror and pain, showing readers a creepy horror world full of violence, murder, incest, rape and other various evils.
What’s more, another reason why Gothic novels give readers a feel of eerie and creepy is that it closely connects with the description of the special atmosphere and the unique choice of time. Castles and abbeys are two favorite scenes, where there are the largest numbers of basements, traps, chambers, and dungeons.
In addition, the narrative features of the Gothic novels can be divided into three categories: subjective narrative feature, “perversion” prolepses and repeated narrative.
Furthermore, three kinds of images can be frequently seen in the Gothic novels, they are the images of villains, unfortunate women, and ghosts.
3.3 Edgar Allan Poe and American Gothic Literature
Doubtlessly, it is just in the period of American independence that the U.S.A. gets the opportunity to catch up with the trend, joining the ranks of romantic literature as a recruit. When it comes to Gothic literature in America, Edgar Allan Poe plays an indispensable role in contributing to the development of Gothic style. Basing on the inheritance and development of the traditional British Gothic novel, Poe originates the psychological analysis and initiates the American science fiction, which enriches the creating styles of short stories.
Poe absorbs the classic characteristics of the Gothic novels and transforms them from the point of view of narration, aesthetic features, and artistic connotation and so on. On the one hand, his short stories critically inherit important elements of Gothic novels, such as the themes, scenes and plots. They are used to express his cosmic philosophy outlook and theory of his short stories. This makes his novels present the similar aesthetic features and reception to Gothic novels. At the same time, his novels have a subversive power of mainstream literature to maintain the current order and norm.