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Gothic novel is an important form of English literature in the 18th century as well as the most wide-spread and influential form in the history of English literature. Gothic novel is symbolized as horror, mystery and gloom accompanied with the existence of supernatural creatures. The Castle of Otranto, the first gothic novel in history, tells the story of Manfred, lord of the castle and his family. The story is set in an old castle. Another important gothic novel is Dracula which tells the story of a lord who lost his beloved one and started his revenge. The whole book is full of desire, revenge and slaughter. “Nearly all Gothic horror stories share five basic motifs: a castle/haunted house setting; a young innocent hero; a villain/monster; a dark/oppressive setting; and the inclusion of societal taboos.” (Wright, 2007: 156-157)论文网
During the 21st century, young adult Gothic horror has become a formidable genre. The once-dominant formulaic series of the 1980s and 1990s have been largely replaced by contemporary literary novels that focus more fully on plot, characterization, symbolism, and language.
Vampires existed in different corners in the world from the ancient Egypt to the 21st century. Almost all tribes have their tales of vampires. Vampires symbolize as the moving body which are fed on human blood and keen on transforming human to vampires. They are immortal and the only way to kill vampires is to stick a crabstick into their heart.
1.2 Introduction to Twilight Saga
Twilight is a series of four vampire-themed fantasy romance novels by American author Stephenie Meyer. It charts a period in the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenage girl who moves to Forks, Washington, and falls in love with a 104-year-old vampire named Edward Cullen. The series is told primarily from Bella's point of view, with the epilogue of Eclipse and Part II of Breaking Dawn being told from the viewpoint of character Jacob Black, a werewolf. Since the release of the first novel, Twilight, in 2005, the books have gained immense popularity and commercial success around the world. The series is most popular among young adults. It has won a lot of rewards such as the best book of the year of Publisher Weekly and the best novel of New York Times.
As a gothic novel, it has inherited many distinct features of the traditional gothic novels but at the same time it also makes many innovations, which appeals to the taste of young adults in the 21st century.
2. Inheritance of Gothic Elements
In the Twilight saga, there are many traditional gothic elements in the aspects of characterization, environment description and theme. In the characterization, vampires inherit superpower and cruelty of the previous ones. Descriptions of horrible environment add horror and mystery to the whole story, which provides a platform for expressing the theme of lust, revenge and slaughter.
2.1 Inheritance in the Characterization
In modeling characters, two aspects are often taken into consideration, superpower and personality. Like the original vampires, the Cullen family own amazing speed and strength. In describing personality of characters, Mayer takes James and Victoria as the inheritance of the previous vampires who are cruel and horrible.
2.1.1 Superpower
Vampires are supernatural creatures and they possess amazing speed and strength. It is just the superpower of vampires that makes them so mysterious and attractive. In Mayer’s book, all these supernatural creatures own superpowers.
Edward Cullen not only owns perfect appearance and figure, but also inherits superpower of traditional vampires. When Bella “heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me” and she did not even have time to close her eyes, she [Bella] “saw two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body.” It is Edward, who was standing four cars down away from Bella, who came to her side to push the van away and saved her in just a few seconds. His amazing speed and strength is just like the original vampires. 来~自^751论+文.网www.751com.cn/