Post-Gothic/ The Victorian Gothic/ Romanticism 1839-1898

Fin de siècle Gothic (published at the close of the 19th and opening of the 20th centuries) During this period fears were raised about changes in society and a perceived decline in morality. Fin de siècle texts tend to focus upon moral decadence and often hint at impending catastrophe. No longer set amongst architectural ruins, fin de siècle Gothic narratives substitute the human mind and body for the physical landscape of earlier Gothic texts. The mind and body with its potential to change, mutate, corrupt and decay features in the work of R.L. Stevenson, Arthur Machen, and H.G. Wells.

Context: Read the article from emag on Aestheticism (on The Learning Space).

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), Robert Louis Stevenson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tei6HcAlG5U Read the extract (on The Learning Space) which describes the front and back entrances of Jekyll’s house. In what ways does Stevenson use features of the Gothic? How does he portray: The character(s) of Jekyll and Hyde? Victorian society and late 19th century London?

Early/ high gothic vs Victorian/ late Gothic: Think back to the extracts from early and high Gothic fiction that you have studied. What similarities do you notice between these and the late/ Victorian gothic texts? What differences do you notice? What contextual features do you think influenced this change?

Symbolism in the extract What do you think these different entrances symbolise? In two groups, re- read the description of one of the entrances. Group 1: Read the description of the front entrance again. How does Stevenson depict this entrance? How does he use: symbolism? language? structure? features of the Gothic? Group 2: Read the description of the back entrance again. How does Stevenson depict this entrance? How does he use: symbolism? language? structure? features of the Gothic?

How might Stevenson be mirroring aspects of Victorian London through his description of the houses?

Homework: Read the extract from Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker. Annotate it for features of the Gothic. Can you consider how context is also important/ evident in the extract? Extension: Read the article Class Divisions - Victorian Fiction From Dickens to Wilde from emag (on The Learning Space)