![]() ![]() Examples of the Evil Father include the very first Gothic Villain, Manfred from the Castle of Otranto, Schedoni from The Italian (who is thought to be the heroine’s literal father at one point), and Victor Frankenstein. Generally, these characters represent one of two archetypes: the Evil Father or the Dangerous Lover. Most of them are men who threaten the heroine with physical danger and/or sexual violation. Gothic Villains fill the role of the aggressive masculine figure. Therefore, this essay will outline the characteristics that define most Gothic Villains throughout literary history. As of the date of this essay, even Wikipedia lacks an article for “Gothic Villain.” This survey of criticism makes it clear that the term needs more clarification. Austin State University, not a single one contains an entry for “Gothic Villain.” Furthermore, only two encyclopedias on Gothic Literature ( Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature by Mary Ellen Snodgrass and The Handbook to Gothic Literature edited by Marie Mulvey-Roberts) contain entries that attempt to explain the term. Out of the four published indexes on Gothic Literature in the Ralph W. ![]() Many critical texts on the Gothic use the term “Gothic Villain” in a manner which assumes that a generally-accepted definition exists within critical literature. These characteristics allow creators of the site to identify which characters is a given text qualify as “Gothic Villains” and provide them with a starting point or outline to guide their writing process on character profiles. ![]() These characteristics come from the observations of multiple scholars and close-reading of the literature itself. Though crafting a succinct and all-encompassing definition proved to be unfeasible, we have identified the major characteristics that demarcate the Gothic Villain from the beginning of Gothic Literature in Horace Walpole’s the Castle of Otranto to roughly the end of the Victorian Era. As this website is dedicated exclusively to villainy in the Gothic, we have been forced to grapple with the term and attempt to craft such a definition for the purpose of marking the site’s scope and identifying the characters who should receive analysis. Although literary scholarship generally recognizes the key role of the Gothic Villain within the history of Gothic Literature, relatively few scholars have attempted to define the term in a clear and encompassing manner that is useful to scholarship and education. ![]()
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