So, we’ve talked about what gothic lit it, and we’ve examined it.
Now it’s time to dive into the sub-genres!
The first one: female gothic. For brevity, think the Brontes. For those of you who would like a more complete definition:
Female Gothic: Explores women’s entrapment in the domestic sphere and subjection to patriarchal authority and the trangressive and dangerous attempts to subvert and escape these restrictions. The woman moves from innocence/childhood to maturity through the course of the novel.
Examples are, like I said, the Brontes. Wuthering Heights, Villette and Jane Eyre are prime examples of this, which we will explore over the next few days!
There is also a sense of the supernatural in these stories, which is different from “Regular” or “pure” gothic. All of the novels above, for example, have a ghost, or a supposed ghost, make an appearance (or many) in the novels.
Living Adventurously 