Ruins...

The tropes in a gothic tale throughout the 18th century had become extremely discernible as more gothic novels had started to be written. That also goes for "The Ruins of the Abbey-Fitzmartin" also. When reading this book, I was able to spot quite a few common trope that were wildly popular during the time.

In one instance, it is noted that Anna was to wed a terrible man who she feared. As we learned in class, this was a legitimate fear of the women in the 18th century. They feared being with a man who could be lethal to them, on top of not being able to marry someone they truly love. That was another fear that was tied into this story-- Anna had to marry this complete stranger while she loved someone else.

Another fear that was addressed in "The Ruins..." was darkness. In every Gothic tale, darkness is used as a way to build suspense and really strike fear into the readers. As in the 18th century, darkness was a common fear among people, along with storms. When it was dark, that was it. The only means of light were through candlelight, which was barely effective. Along with storms, which scared the ever living hell out of people. These were some very common tropes that could be found when reading "The Ruins of the Abbey-Fitzmartin."

What really brings all of these tropes together is how the author leads the readers to deal with them. People always like to have some kind of push to get over any and all fears they have, and what better way to get it than through an author? Someone who is obviously educated in the art of word? In the end, the author uses supernatural forces and other means to "defeat" the terrible power of the story, allowing the good guys to come out victorious. This will allow the readers to think that if they want to overcome fears and stand up for themselves, they need to do what's right and they too will be victorious.

Fears and tears

A lot of elements that are present in The Castle of Otranto, to me, are a bit... outdated. It's evident in some of the aspects he uses when using fear in the story; he knew how to really hit people in their fear spot when writing this. Some of these fears that Walpole is concerned with are supernatural entities, storms, and darkness. Those are some really big factors when reading the story. I believe that these really hit home with the readers during that time because, as opposed to the changes the world has gone through since the 17th century, those were legitimate fears. The understanding of the world wasn't as vast as we know it today, darkness was even darker, and storms made everything ten times more frightening. I think that when he wrote this, he was able to really dig deep into the psyche of people during the 17th century and hit the nail on the head of what would terrify them. 

Personal Definition of "Gothic"

The term "Gothic" has a variety of different terms, ranging from literature to current fashion trends. To me, the definition of "Gothic" means fear and horror. I'm not much of a fan of the fashion trends; I find them tacky. Whenever I think of the word "Gothic", I'm always taken back in time when Gothic architecture was an up and coming idea and when books were centered around the 'fear' that Gothic was said to bring.