subtexts in 19th century gothic
Nov. 2nd, 2007 03:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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darkling_talesLJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY dfordoom)
I’ve been involved in a fascinating discussion on erotic subtexts in 19th century gothic fiction. What has surprised me most is that there are people who don’t see such subtexts, even in Dracula! So I thought I’d raise the subject here. Is gothic fiction mostly about sex? Or at least, anxiety about sex? Aside from the obvious suspects such as Dracula and Carmilla what other 19th century gothic come to mind in this context?
A number of people in this other discussion seemed to think that Stoker was completely unconscious of the sexual connotations of what he was writing. Do you agree? If the author is not conscious of the subtext, does it still count?
dfordoom)I’ve been involved in a fascinating discussion on erotic subtexts in 19th century gothic fiction. What has surprised me most is that there are people who don’t see such subtexts, even in Dracula! So I thought I’d raise the subject here. Is gothic fiction mostly about sex? Or at least, anxiety about sex? Aside from the obvious suspects such as Dracula and Carmilla what other 19th century gothic come to mind in this context?
A number of people in this other discussion seemed to think that Stoker was completely unconscious of the sexual connotations of what he was writing. Do you agree? If the author is not conscious of the subtext, does it still count?
