Genre and Gothic Literature

What is Genre?

Genre is a category of art defined by its composition of particular styles, themes and content. A movie about a group of unsuspecting teens terrorized by an axe wielding maniac belongs to the horror genre. A novel about a band of heroes trekking across a wondrous land filled with dragons and orcs is distinctly fantasy. And stories of fanged monsters that prowl the streets of grand Victorian cities, wooing men and women with their hypnotising charm and feeding on the blood of the helpless – are pillars of the gothic genre.

What is Gothic Literature?

Gothic literature is the exploration of the strange and taboo, backed by the promise of the supernatural. Its settings are dark and gloomy – perpetually enshrouding its stories with an eerie atmosphere – that also combine the old and the new to further segregate readers from the real world.  The use of the uncanny not only conjures tangible horrors into these distorted worlds, but also acts as a tool to explore the darkest corners of the mind; creating monstrous personifications of characters’ mental anguish and confronting readers with existential horror and questions of moral ambiguity. Gothic stories are also fascinated with conflict and power, from their juxtaposing landscapes to the wildly unbalanced power dynamic often shared between characters.These relationships between unnaturally powerful figures and their helpless victims act as period pieces that often shine a light on the vulnerability of certain types of people, while also venturing into more perverse and dangerous ideas of sexuality. All of this works in tandem to play on the reader’s own perverse, but innate, fascination with the macabre and unusual.

Archetypes in Gothic Literature

Protagonist’s in the Gothic genre, and media as a whole, can come in a variety of forms. Some may be sensible rationalists with unremarkable skills, trying their best to overcome the supernatural forces they’ve been pitted against.  Everymen such as Arthur Kipps from Susan Hill’s The Woman In Black, are easy to root for and sympathise with due to their relatability and the dire situation they’ve found themselves in. Protagonists can even come in the form of a collection of characters, such is the case in Dracula (1897),all combining their efforts to overcome a near-incomprehensible evil that they face. Though, there is an argument to be made that the blood-sucking Tyrant is the protagonist himself. The most interesting I find however, are The Creators. Characters so self-absorbed and lost in their work that it inevitably leads to their downfall; surrounded by dark forces that are but twisted reflections of their own inner turmoil. One of whom is Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelly’s classic, Frankenstein. 

Victor is a brilliant scientist who lets his ambition lead him down a dark path of arrogance and self destruction. In the pursuit of solidifying his reputation, he isolates himself from his family and sets himself to the morbid goal of resurrecting the dead. The result of his efforts, “The Monster”, leaves Victor horrified and causes him to flee. The negligence of his creation is what ultimately causes the death of his loved ones and his own eventual demise.

Leading on from that, The Monster of Frankenstein – and no, I’m not talking about Victor – fills in the role of The Villain for the majority of the story. At birth however, one could perhaps say that The Monster was a character that represented The Innocent. Confused, lost and hurting from abandonment, The Monster traipsed across the land seeking one simple thing, acceptance. And yet he was scorned everywhere he went thanks to his horrific visage; causing a rising thirst for revenge to overcome him. This transition turned The Monster into our Misunderstood Villain, his later actions still deplorable but at least explainable too. 

Villains teeter on the edge between archetypes and stock characters, but are integral to Gothic literature regardless as they are often the source of the supernatural events. One of the most iconic characters ever, Dracula, as mentioned previously, is a Tyrant and the progenitor of the modern day Vampire. A Villain who seeks only to destroy, wrought with narcissism and convinced that they are the centre of the universe. Villains are often the vessels for which writers can explore their grander ideas and darker questions, thus Gothic literature would not be what it is without them. 

Another important archetype in Gothic literature is The Innocent. As referenced before with The Monster, they are characters who view the world through a lense of naivety. More often than not the archetype is interpreted more literally, with innocent characters being young – or rather child-like individuals – who are themselves powerless. In other instances however, The Innocent character is one who merely has yet to be exposed to horrors hidden beneath their perception of the world – free from the mental burden of the supernatural forces around them. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), one character does not necessarily conform to the innocent archetype. Rather, they share it as they are each individually introduced to the existence of Dracula and the evil he encompasses. 

Going back to Frankenstein, a clear example of The Innocent archetype would be Victor’s younger brother, William. Strangled to death for his resemblance to his brother – despite being just a boy – William is without a doubt the least deserving character of The Monster’s wrath. Yet, because of his sheer helplessness, there is nothing he could have done to alter his fate. 

Gothic Characters in Graphic Novels

The influence of Gothic literature is still felt even to this day, with many of the characters originating from the genre being featured predominantly in various forms of books and media. Graphic novels in particular have been on the Goth train for years, utilizing these ancient characters to create new and horrific tales. Dracula, arguably the pale face of Gothic literature, has seen the most adaptations out of the bunch. In 1972 the blood sucker made his first debut in one of the “big two’s” comics, with Marvel’s The Tomb of Dracula. In this horror series Dracula faced off against his own descendent, Frank Drake along with a slew of other vampire hunters. The series switched up the Dracula formula not only by pitting the big bad against his relatives, but also by making Dracula team up with the vampire hunters from time to time to fight off even greater menaces. 

Van Helsing, another classic character from Bram Stoker’s original work, also features in this series – but with a twist. Instead of Abraham, the vampire expert and doctor, readers are introduced to his granddaughter, Rachel Van Helsing. Rachel is a fully fledged vampire hunter in the comic, but eventually meets her demise when Dracula turns her into a vampire and she asks Wolverine – one of Marvel’s heavy hitters – to finish her off. Rachel’s arc, while short, breathed a breath of fresh air into the Van Helsing character.

Speaking of the bad-mouthed superhero, Wolverine is not the only spandex-clad character that Dracula has appeared alongside. In Giant Sized Spider-Man #1 (1974) Dracula meets Spider-Man aboard a boat as the both of them search for a formula to cure a rare blood disease. And on another occasion, Avengers #118 sees the vampire team up with the group of superheroes to fight interdimensional forces. More often than not, pairing Dracula alongside these colourful characters saw his adventures take a comical and light hearted turn, that were a far cry from the original terrifying tale from which he was created. 

That’s not to say all graphic novels treat the character so lightly however. Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Roy Thomas & Mike Mignola, a comic based on the film of the same name rather than the original book, is a dark adaptation of Dracula’s story that explores a twisted romance between him and Mina Harker. Mike Mignola, known for his work on Hellboy, brings this tragic – but just a bloody – reimagining of Dracula to life with his stunning art.