7/25/2019 The Imperial Gothic
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The Imperial Gothic
The term Imperial Gothic refers to pieces of ctional stories
written in the
late 19thcentury situated in the British Empire that adapt
elements from
Gothic novels such as the gloomy atmospheres tyrannical
characters whileincluding presence of the supernatural! It
originated from 1"th century
literature categori#ed as $rientalist Gothic which were stories
situated in
East %sia and fre&uently featured tyrants dungeons and
'etrayal! %uthors
implemented such $rientalist elements into their historical
ction wor(
which often involved imperial settings such as the novel The
)oonstone
which too( place in England and India! There are three central
themes of
imperial gothic which are* individual regression or going native
invasion of
civili#ation 'y violence and the reduced opportunities of
adventure and
heroism! In the famous story +racula the vampire has the power
of turning
English men into mem'ers of his race a common theme in imperial
gothic
to show racial or national identity!
