The Gothic Project - ongoing discussions, compare/contract

[Gem , Moderator]

The Gothic Project - ongoing discussions, compare/contrast


Original Post

What are the similarities and differences between the Gothic elements in The Castle of Otranto (1764) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)?

What impact do you think the passage of approximately 120 years had on the development of Gothic literature?

Did you prefer one story over the other? If so, why?

EDIT 1:

We've now read two more stories The Body Snatcher and Olalla. What are your thoughts about these two books compared to The Castle of Otranto and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror?

[Nancy]

A very interesting set of questions. Of course, both novels require a willing suspension of disbelieve from the reader, The setting of The Castle of Otranto, being of a type more unfamiliar to most readers, was also less believable, and such supernatural elements as the huge helmet tended to be laughable and jarring. The setting of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is more familiar to the modern reader, and Stevenson's use of fog, deserted streets, and creepy laboratories is something most modern people can easily imagine. Also, the supernatural element in Otranto were more difficult to believe than the idea of a doctor concocting something evil in a lab. In the 120 years between the two writings, there were other Gothic stories (such as Frankenstein) that refined the elements of the genre and brought it into more modern times. I much preferred Jekyll and Hyde to Otranto, although both are worth reading for the appreciation of the gothic.

[Gem , Moderator]

Nancy wrote: "A very interesting set of questions. Of course, both novels require a willing suspension of disbelieve from the reader, The setting of The Castle of Otranto, being of a type more unfamiliar to most..."

I agree with everything you wrote of the two Jekyll & Hyde was more of what I expect a "gothic" story/novel to be. The Castle has numerous laughable moments which, for me, took away from the story.

[Gem , Moderator]

Re: Edit 1

For me, so far, The Body Snatcher has been my favorite due to the fact that it is scary, dark, *and* realistic. I'm not overly fond of supernatural elements in a story unless I'm going in knowing that there are those elements (like Dickens' A Christmas Carol) because often time it feels contrived or like the author needed an easy way out.

I know that gothic literature can deal with the supernatural so I'm trying to be open-minded.