The Female Gothic: Radcliffe's Terror vs. Walpole's Horror

The "female gothic" genre was established in the 1790's when women were being suffocated of their legal and political rights as human beings. The "female gothic" varies from the regular genre of the gothic novel because it is a genre that is written specifically by women that is indirectly correcting the patriarchal restraints of society. The basic formula that a male written gothic follows highlights the extreme sensibility of the women but the main character is a male hero.

We see this "male hero" in the The Castle of Ortanto written by Horace Walpole. The gothic novel follows a basic formula where the male character, Manfred, is faced with the challenge of fulfilling a prophecy that will result in the end of his rule. The male character, Manfred, loses his son and becomes obsessed with the idea of marrying a younger woman, Isabella. His pursuit of Isabella is what adds horror and suspense to this gothic novel. Throughout the novel, Manfred comes close to exemplifying his male-dominance over Isabella by letting the readers believe that he will rape her. His overall goal is to force Isabella to bear a male heir in order for Manfred's rule to continue. The male gothic novel such as, The Castle of Ortanto, characterizes it's female character's to be extremely sensible and distraught by their emotions. Walpole also focuses on the physical aspect of the "horror" of the gothic novel. The horror is made aware to the reader when Manfred begins his pursuit of Isabella. As she flees, the reader is anticipating the rape of Isabella. The male lead character is actively engaging and adding to the horror of the novel.

To read more on the differences between horror and terror in Gothic novels, click here.

 Horror can be described or imagines by watching a violent act take place.

The woman in the novel are meant to represent how woman are to be "submissive and obedient" to all patriarchal power structures. Hippolita represents the traditional mold of how a woman was supposed to behave at the time. Her role was to obey and support her husband at all cost. Walpole portrays Hippolita as this tragic female character that is desperately fighting for her husband's affection. Walpole is consciously creating Hippolita with regards to the greek goddess Hippolyta. Hippolyta was a archaic women that is used to represent male dominance over a woman. (To see more examples of how other authors used Hippolyta click on the above link). Walpole creates the suspense for the reader on his ability to deconstruct the female characters, while at the same time, he is allowing the male characters to gain sympathy and justifies the violence that the men engage in.

A reader of both, The Castle of Otranto and A Sicilian Romance written by female author Ann Radcliffe, could argue that Radcliffe's gothic novel was written in response to Walpole's gothic novel. Radcliffe's plays into the humor of deconstructing the patriarchal structures in her novel. Her male characters are portrayed as making irrational and hasty decisions based on the emotional state that they are in. So, what makes Radcliffe's female gothic novel different from Walpole's gothic novel? Her ability to create a "female gothic" formula. This formula represents a lead female character that is lacking a maternal role in her life, defying a patriarchal power, and is seen a character that is in a constant state of motion. Unlike Walpole, Radcliffe creates a heroine instead of a hero. In A Sicilian Romance, Julia is the lead heroine is unaware that her mother is still alive. The female character is fleeing from an unpromising suitor (Duke de Luovo) and defying the patriarchal structure in place.

The female gothic novel differs from a male gothic novel because it is written by a female author with the intention to critique the patriarchal structures of society. Radcliffe also is responsible for reflecting terror in her novels vs. the horror of Walpole's novels. Radcliffe does this by her creation of her lead female character Julia. The "male chase" of Julia is what creates the terror aspect of Radcliffe's gothic novel. The constant suspense that Radcliffe creates is what makes her gothic novel differ from Walpole's novel. By placing Julia in motion, Radcliffe uses this as an excuse to make the reader subconscious of the sublimity of scenery and setting. This is Radcliffe's way of distinguishing her use of terror vs. horror. Walpole uses his castle to place his characters in this dark, eery place to set the scene for the upcoming horrific actions. Radcliffe uses the castle to terrify and create suspense for the reader. Radcliffe's terror awakens the reader's "unconscious mind." Her ability to tap into the reader's mind and create the suspense of her main character's destiny is how she effectively crafts her version of the gothic novel.

To exemplify the effects that horror can have: here is the trailer for Disney's Frozen if it were going to be a horror film.

And, here is the original trailer for "Frozen"

Discussion Questions:

How does Radcliffe's use of terror in her creation of Julia differ from Walpole's creation of Isabella? Where in Radcliffe's A Sicilian Romance, does she effectively use terror to set up the plot? Does it work for her? If she were to use more horror tactics than terror tactics, would it be as effective?

If Radcliffe chose to use a male lead character, instead of Julia, would her novel have the same result? Could she still successfully critique a patriarchal structure using a male lead character? How could she do this? Or why could she not do this?

In your own personal opinion, what makes terror differ from horror? Can you have one without the other? Or do both have to be prevalent to exist? Where do you see Radcliffe using terror? Where do you see her using horror? Where so you see Walpole using horror/terror? Does one use horror/terror more effectively? How?

***If there is time, describe the differences between the original "Frozen" trailer vs. the "Frozen: Horror" trailer? What effect did the horror version have on you? How was the castle used? Compare and contrast the change of scenery.