Gothic architecture thrived during the High and Late Medieval period. The upper echelons of the feudal system were so impressed by the looming cathedrals that they had their castles built in the same Gothic style. These castles are astonishing and sinister at the same time: the great vaulted ceilings and flying buttresses dwarf and intimidate the servant or visitor. These were times of patriarchal power and occult beliefs, the castle symbolized many tropes that also belong to the Gothic literary movement, such as terror, imprisonment, the psyche and the supernatural. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The essay explores the role of the castle, particularly its connection and relationship to the idea of ​​hierarchy and the feudal system; vulnerability, death and the aesthetics of terror; and psychological submission. The main texts are The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole and Dracula by Bram Stoker. Both of these texts link their castle to the feudal system and ideas of fear and entrapment. Subsidiary texts are The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, and The Chamber of Blood, The Lady of the House of Love, and The Courtship of Mr. Lyon by Angela Carter. These texts demonstrate that elements of my main texts are central to many other Gothic texts and draw comparisons and differences between them. While only The Bloody Chamber technically chronicles events within a castle, the rest feature buildings where similar events can be witnessed; these texts can certainly all be labeled as gothic. The castle's effect on the characters in these texts is always negative, and whether the characters' perception is compromised by a supernatural fear instilled in them by the archaic setting or whether they feel barricaded in the paranoid recesses of their own minds, the castle increases all these things. feelings with terrifying consequences. Castles in the Gothic genre are dominant structures. Castle Dracula is undoubtedly magnificent, and Harker notes immediately upon his arrival that he is in the "courtyard of a vast ruined castle" whose "broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlit sky." Walpole, in The Castle of Otranto (Otranto), is more subtle in describing the grandeur of the castle, merely telling the reader that the "hundred gentlemen bearing an enormous sword" fit easily into the courtyard. Stoker uses the castle to frame his narrative, having each stone "articulated against the light of the setting sun" which brings to life the image created by the "moonlit sky" at the beginning of the novel. Both castles are complex structures: during Isabella's escape to Otranto we discover that the castle is "carved into several intricate cloisters" and this is very similar to Castle Dracula which contains "a dark, tunnel-like passage". It appears, however, that Stoker was more aware of the Gothic architectural tradition, as phrases such as "up a great spiral staircase" and "high black windows" illustrate. A sense of grandeur is typical of the Gothic: in Poe's story The Masque of the Red Death (Masque) we see "an extensive and magnificent structure" and the castle in Angela Carter's story (Chamber) is "a mysterious and amphibious place, which contravenes the materiality of both land and waves." This transcendental majesty takes a more reserved form in The Courtship of Mr. Lyons with "a perfect miniature Palladian house that seemed to hide shyly behind the snow-laden skirts of an ancient cypress." This trope of opulence is also implied in The Fall of the House of Usher (Usher) byPoe when Usher points to "the enormous ancient panels." It is clear that if the writer wants to impress the reader with a building, then it must be extraordinary, in its magnificence, complexity or beauty. This greatness encourages a sense of insecurity as great power can arouse illicit discomfort even in those who feel free. The primary function of a castle is to protect its inhabitants from enemy invasions. Dracula's castle is located in a wild mountain stronghold that was "built on the corner of a great rock, so that on three sides it was entirely impregnable", making it extremely difficult to attack; the castle represents security. Safety is also a concern in Otranto as there is an underground passage to a nearby church, which proves to be a useful escape route. It is significant that Dracula is not defeated by Harker and his accomplices in his castle and that it is the walls, the main security element of the Castle of Otranto, that collapse upon Theodore's arrival. After analyzing other Gothic texts, it becomes even clearer that defense and strength are crucial aspects for the castle: in Chamber the walls of the torture chamber are "the bare rock" and the house in Courtship is "behind wrought iron gates". However, the pond that closes the fragments of the "HOUSE OF USHER" does not symbolize the fulfillment of a prophecy, as in Otranto, but the final fall of Usher into madness and ruin. The castle is a strong structure, a symbol of power , and therefore only the richest families could afford this kind of luxury. Hierarchy and the feudal system have an important role to play when it comes to the castle. It is also interesting to note that Stoker described Dracula as «the ancient medieval vampire but today recrudescent,” while the novel Otranto pretends to be about events that occurred between 1095 and 1243; both novels are rich in history from his self-identification as a "Transylvanian nobleman". Castle Dracula is a tangible part of this notion. Walpole goes even further in representing the castle as a remnant of an aristocratic past with the prophetic phrase "That the castle and the lordship of Otranto should pass from 'current family, whenever the real owner becomes too old to live in it' which is an integral part of the narrative. The lineage is essential for Otranto and this is extremely clear when Teodoro, descendant of Alfonso, poisoned by Manfredi's grandfather, enters: «The walls of the castle behind Manfredi were knocked down with powerful force, and Alfonso's form, dilated to an immense size , appeared in the center of the ruins.'The collapsed walls symbolize Manfred's betrayal, but above all the restoration of the true descendant. The ruins are monumental and thus give the impression of long-lost power, not to mention echoes of supernatural fears, while Castle Dracula's survival makes it a permanent threat. Both, however, are signs of a distant past and their possession is vital for the characters, as demonstrated by the fact that Manfred is first "impatient for his grandchildren", then wants to marry Isabella; the survival of the family, and with them the castle, is of the utmost importance. We see the "Romanian aristocracy" and "Vlad the Impaler" mentioned in Angela Carter's The Lady of the House of Love, and in the Chamber the dining room is the one "where King Mark was said to have fed the his knights" '. All these buildings are steeped in noble history and antiquity. The fact that these castles were once grand underlines how decadent they are in the present. In Dracula's Castle "the sculpture had been much worn by time and weather", butWalpole goes so far as to bring down the Castle of Otranto, due to past sins and the prospect of rejuvenation. The Gothic trope of new versus old world comes to the surface here. This can be read from a Marxist perspective: Karl Marx believed that cultures move from one time zone to another and therefore there is a crisis in modernity as we are still obsessed with the past. This old order then causes anxiety in the present. In Dracula, Harker innocently represents modernity and the castle is in direct contrast to this; while in Otranto the prophecy originates from the past although it is fulfilled in the present. Long ago the castle would have been appreciated; now, especially in the case of Castle Dracula, it represents an immense threat. Other buildings in Gothic fiction conform to this notion: in Usher, "The discoloration of the ages had been great." Tiny mushrooms cover the entire exterior, hanging in a thin web tangled from the gutters' while in the Chamber, 'the old name of this place is the Castle of Murder' and Lady's protagonist is surprised 'to discover how ruinous the interior of the house was." The Marquis De Sade argued that the Gothic movement was the necessary art of a revolutionary era, but the thesis that it arose due to the general perception that all ancient structures were in decay is also true. crumbling scenery suggests both ruin and a glorious and powerful past, grouping thousands of memories and stories into a single image, the purpose of a fortress is to prevent entry, but that also means preventing exit that all the exits of Castle Dracula are closed and that "The castle is a real prison, and I am a prisoner". and this natural sublimity, together with the imposing architecture, highlights its situation. The word "ragged", used to describe battlements and a coat of arms, may be linked to the vampires who live within the castle. In Otranto, instead of closing the doors, "several intricate cloisters", exacerbated by gusts of wind, make Isabella's escape difficult, although she manages to leave the castle more easily than Harker. It is significant, however, that he has to take refuge in a church and cannot leave; Here claustrophobia prevails, a feeling symptomatic of confinement. All of these places place the reader in a scenario of entrapment; this feeling of vulnerability is disturbing due to the cathartic processing of one's fears involved. It's clear that the Gothic genre has a weakness for structures that incarcerate its inhabitants. In the House, Carter calls the castle a "lovely prison"; however, we should not forget that Carter, unlike the rest of the writers here, is female and therefore, due to the gothic trope of the woman trapped in the castle, it is possible that she is slightly more concerned with this theme. In Usher, the line "The windows were long, narrow, and pointed, so far from the black oak floor as to be quite inaccessible from within" gives the impression of a room from which it is impossible to escape. Lady, however, goes so far as to create a disturbing image of roses growing in a wall "that incarcerates her in the castle of her inheritance". These gothic structures of entrapment unnerve and terrify the characters and, through our empathy, us. We experience the same surprises and even the same desire for freedom, albeit with the certainty of being safe. Castles are mysterious places where reality can sometimes be taken over by supernatural forces. However, the nature of these powers is significantly different when comparing Otrantoand Dracula. Many bizarre events occur in Otranto: Conrad is "almost buried under a huge helmet", a statue's nose bleeds, and a gigantic foot and arm clad in armor appear inside the castle. Ghosts also have a role to play in the intrigue: a skeleton "wrapped in a hermit's hood" tells Frederic to forget Matilda. The fear that something is hiding in a castle is a classic Gothic trope. The reader's trust, and by extension the veracity of events, are tested much more rigorously in Dracula; instead of an omniscient narrator like Otranto's, Stoker uses an epistolary form with Harker's diary that is much more fallible. It is not so much the events that occurred in Castle Dracula that are supernatural, but rather the... inhabitants themselves. Harker soon realizes that he is "the only living soul in the place" and is soon after seduced by three vampires who seem unconfined by the physical limits of the castle: "they simply seemed to vanish in the rays of the moonlight". Likewise, Count Dracula lives on human blood, can only survive in the darkness, is not reflected in mirrors and is afraid of garlic and crucifixes. The vampire is a mythical phenomenon and therefore in Dracula the reader is asked not only to accept supernatural events, as in Otranto, but even to believe in them and fear them. Furthermore, it is notable that, although in both novels the mysterious events do not take place exclusively in the castle, they originate in these buildings. Most Gothic novels with supernatural elements conform to Otranto in content, but not in form. Poe, in Usher, includes natural phenomena: “Suddenly there broke loose along the path a wild light, and I turned to see whence could come such an unusual gleam” which leads to the collapse of the house. This narrative is in the first person, and therefore the reader must also question the fallibility of the narrator who may have been affected by Usher's madness. Tzvetan Todorov wrote about the inexplicable supernatural, emphasizing that a person who witnesses an event must choose one of two solutions: either he is a victim of his imagination or the event actually happened. This hesitation is the main requirement for the fantastic to take root in our minds. However, what we should really question is the impact that the carceral state of castles and the supernatural elements within them have on the characters and the reader. Above all, the castle causes terror and there is tension here as the castle is a physical object, so in theory it would be more associated with horror. Furthermore, this terror leads to very similar consequences in Dracula and Otranto: Harker states that the castle "chilled my heart and made my nerves tremble" and madly decides "to scale the castle walls farther than I have ever attempted " to escape; Isabella, after the death of her fiancé Corrado, flees from her father Manfredi through an underground passage. Harker, however, also compares himself to a 'mouse... trapped', and in Otranto Bianca, after seeing a giant hand, declares "Tonight I will not sleep in the castle". So it is clear that it is not only the inhabitants of the castle that arouse such fear, but also the castle's resemblance to a prison and even its supernatural aspects. Why do the sense of entrapment and the existence of the supernatural in castles actually cause terror? the most obvious reason would be the fear of death: incarceration limits our personal space and freedom, and inevitably ties back to this primal concern with our mortality. What the characters experience is essentially claustrophobia which, if experienced continuously, is extremely disturbing; this is cathartic forthe reader who feels trapped without actual physical captivity. Masque is an allegory for the inevitability of death as the characters are chased by a stranger who kills them all. In almost all my texts there are deaths, and in my main texts there are multiple of them. Clearly, the feeling of being trapped inside such an enormous structure reinforces this helplessness as the characters appear to be in constant awe of their surroundings. Poe was fascinated by the idea of ​​being buried alive, something we see with the cataleptic Madeleine in Usher, and the panic felt within the castle can be seen as an extension of this. This paranoia of being trapped with no escape is applicable to both Dracula and Otranto; without a lucky descent from a window and an underground passage respectively this would have been a reality. There is also the tension of events happening against the will of the characters, such as the giant's presence in Otranto, and it is significant that Dracula greets Harker with “Enter freely and of your own will!” Although it comes by choice, the protagonist quickly becomes unnerved by his surroundings. This idea can be extended to sexuality: according to Freud the sexual instinct, Eros, is linked in an uncontrollable way to the death instinct, Thanatos, and therefore these two concepts of production and death of life are connected. The vampires play with Harker's mind: he wants to remain faithful to Mina, but at the same time he finds the creatures "voluptuous"; the scene ends with the phrase "Then horror overcame me". This challenges the stereotypical events that happen in a castle: usually the malevolent male (Manfred) endangers the female protagonist (Isabella), forcing her to flee and be chased. It is in castles that these dark events can thrive as they are isolated from the outside world. Dracula, however, distorts this concept by having female vampires try to overpower the male protagonist; the gender roles are reversed, illustrating another way in which Stoker upsets both Harker and the reader. Castle also has an alarming propensity to affect sleep. The Count warns Harker “that if you leave these rooms you will under no circumstances go to sleep anywhere else in the castle. He is old and has many memories, and there are bad dreams for those who sleep recklessly. “The danger hidden in the castle is a quintessential Gothic trope and Harker disobeys the Count; he writes "The feeling of sleep was upon me" leading to his encounter with the vampires. It is clear that the castle challenges the liminal state of dream and reality. Harker, upon seeing them, remarks, "At that moment I thought I must be dreaming when I saw them" and throughout his time in Castle Dracula is never sure whether what he is experiencing is real. In Otranto, however, the general aura of realism is preserved, even if it is intermittently put to the test by various events: “'What, isn't that Alfonso?' exclaimed Manfred: "can't you see it?" Could it be the delirium of my brain?' - 'This! my lord,' said Hippolita: 'this is Theodore, the youth who has been so unfortunate' - ...'Theodore, or a ghost, has unhinged Manfred's soul.'” Here, Manfred cannot believe his eyes and this seems like supernatural and dramatic events, facilitated by the castle, have begun to overwhelm him. Bianca, after seeing a hand, exclaims: «Tonight I won't sleep in the castle» and therefore it seems that in Otranto sleep is disturbed, but in Dracula we don't know whether we are conscious or not. Harker writes, "I began to rub my eyes and pinch myself to see if I was awake," then realizes that it all "seemed like a horrible nightmare." The imposing building terrifies him because it makes reality extremely vague. It is also noteworthy that Madeleine in Usher is cataleptic and therefore theconnection between sleep and death is established when she is buried and returns. The darkness, an aspect so inherent to the Gothic, also aids the castle in its slow subjugation of the characters. It represents the uncertain, the unknown and the intimidating. The "long labyrinth of darkness" of Otranto is linked to the terrible workings of Manfredi's mind. This draws a parallel to Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart in which the narrator describes his victim's room as "pitch black with thick darkness", which can also be read as a reference to the dark recesses of his crazed mind. We must also remember that Count Dracula can only thrive outside of the light. Hippolita assures Manfred that 'the vision of the gigantic leg and foot was all a fairy tale; and no doubt an impression left by fear and the dark and sad hour of the night on the minds of his servants. The darkness here is represented as something that can manifest these horrible visions. This psychological disorientation is reinforced by the size of the castle. Both Dracula's Castle and Otranto Castle are enormous, making them appear to have limitless boundaries: this threatens the characters with problems involving size and order and, according to Freud, in his book Outlines of Psychoanalysis, brings previously repressed childhood fears to the surface. Harker and Manfred's profound paranoia, despite their foresight, attests to this. There is some tension here because once inside the castle it can be very claustrophobic. The phallic aspect of Gothic towers has long been a component of horror symbolism; the height of the tower favors the conquest of the minds of the characters. The loneliness experienced adds another dimension. This is heightened by the complete change of scene for Harker as he finds himself, like Chamber's protagonist, in an exotic land of Transylvania. He soon realizes that "there were no servants in the house" and finds this solitude unnerving: "I begin with my shadow and am filled with all sorts of horrible imaginations." The count leaves him alone to brood and this isolation, as in the case of Usher who lived a long time only because of Madeleine's condition, begins to make him paranoid. Isabella is also gripped by fear, exacerbated by the terrifying labyrinth: "all these thoughts crowded into her distracted mind, and she was ready to sink under her apprehensions." Nerves and loneliness play a significant role in the development of most of the characters in these Gothic novels. From a psychological point of view, the castle symbolizes the natural human fear of being incarcerated in our mind. As humans, we create social networks and situations that we sometimes cannot escape. We are tempted and often give in to base desires; Harker can't resist falling asleep outside his room and the next day he realizes his mistake as the vampires want to suck his blood. In the Chamber, the same scenario occurs where the French Marquis tells the protagonist: "Everything is yours, everywhere is open to you, except the lock into which this one key fits." Yet all this is the key to a small room at the foot of the west tower.' Even if the young girl had not disobeyed her husband's orders she would have died, we must remember that delving too deeply into our psyche can have unpleasant repercussions. Natural human curiosity makes it inevitable that we will succumb to these temptations. Both Harker and Manfred spend too much time brooding alone; we must free ourselves from the repressed thoughts of our mind through communication rather than solitude. However, it is possible to consider Dracula much more of a psychological novel than Otranto. André's Romero Jedar argues that this turn-of-the-century novel "can be interpreted as a conscious investigation of the (2001).