Gothic Books - Tumblr Posts

Gothic aesthetic

Goooooothic

ART👌

In my gothic and horror literature class this semester, we are talking about Frankenstein and reading the book.

We were having the conversation, as kinda like a towards the end of the book discussion type deal, and discussing who the heroes were in this book or if there was a tragic hero or even a villain.

Of course everyone was like fuck Victor, he was a hoe for acting the way that he did and we agreed that he was a villain but also not because that would mean there’s an opposing side.

Then one girl starting talking about the monster saying, “The monster I feel bad for because although the things he did wasn’t good, he was built that way, and he didn’t have a choice really the matter of which he reacted in situations.” And it felt like a deep conversation until, “He just girl bossed his way a little to close to the sun so I think with all that being said he’s a tragic villain”

💀 sometimes college reminds me of public school

‘Wuthering Heights’ By Emily  Brontë Book Review

Genre: Gothic/Romance

Rating: 3/5

Summary: The story of Catherine Earnshaw and her foster brother, Heathcliff falling in love. But when Catherine is married to another man Heathcliff seek revenge on those he thinks are responsible.

My Opinion: I was confused throughout the whole book. Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I didn’t. The characters were hard to sympathize with. The decisions they made were crazy. Overall the whole book seemed like a mess.

Still, there were some memorable events which I can't deny that I really liked. The ending was satisfying too.

Favourite Character: Edgar Linton seemed like the only sane person in the entire book. He was a sensible person and I felt his judgements were right.

Quote: “You said I killed you--haunt me then.”

A Review on ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker

Genre: Gothic/Adventure

Rating: 3/4

Summary: An English solicitor named Jonathan Harker visits the Castle Dracula of Transylvania, Romania, where he meets the famous Count Dracula. By the day, he becomes aware of himself being held captive in the labyrinth like castle. In the meantime, Harker’s fiancée Mina Murray grows anxious of his return while noticing some great changes in her best friend, Lucy Westenra.

My Opinion: I was very excited about this book and waited till October to get the Halloween vibes. Unfortunately my exam date was set for October and I had to sneak some time to read it. Anyway, I was able to finish reading the book and liked it. The gothic environment was evident and at times it creeped me out. The environments of the castle and the graveyard were really creepy. The fact that the whole book was written in the format of letters, diaries and journals, kept me guessing. I did not particularly like any character. I didn’t feel emotionally connected to anyone. They seem too plain. A minor character of a mental patient named Renfield was the only one I found interesting. Another problem I struggled with was that the novel was too descriptive. It took a lot of my attention and will power to go through the whole book. But overall, the story was thrilling.

Quote:  “How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.”

‘Demian’ by Hermann Hesse - Book Review

Genre: Psychological/Spiritual

Rating: 4/5

Summary: When Sinclair, as a child, first experiences the dark side of the world apart from the bright side he grew up in, he realizes there must exist a balance between the two worlds in his life.

My Opinion: This book literally got me hooked since the first chapter. The writing style is so breathtaking that I had to stop reading from time to time. The first chapter called us all out. How can we call ourselves the people of light when we sleep peacefully at night knowing that our neighbors are out there, suffering in the dark? Throughout the whole book, the aspects of the world and humans are all divided into the two worlds; that is the ‘bright world’ and the ‘dark world’. But of course, one cannot exist without the other. With this mindset, the writer had presented a beautiful coming-of-age story. Another point I noticed worth mentioning is that the learning process from one’s inner self other than what the world has to offer. This way, we can grow as a person with full freedom. Even though there were things which were a little obscure to me, I still enjoyed most of the book. It had taught me things about myself which I was too afraid to admit. Somehow, I found this book to be a life-saver. I still think it is not for everyone though. Some people might find it a little disturbing while others might fail to connect to the moral concepts of it.

Confession Time: I would have probably never read this if I didn’t know that the ‘Wings’ album of BTS was based off this book. And I’m glad that I did because it is one of my favorite albums by them. Being a person who likes to interpret double meanings and metaphors in arts, I found the references of this book throughout their music videos, short films and songs really amusing.

Characterization: I loved the characterization of Sinclair. But about Max Demian, I’m not a hundred percent sure. Sinclair is a relatable character. I, too, can relate to him in terms of his way of distinguishing the good and evil. Another thing about Sinclair I also find in myself is that he’s a bit pathetic. One way or the other, he is always clinging onto someone, be it his parents from the ‘bright world’ or his friends from the ‘dark one’. I loved the fact that when he found himself surrounded by complete despair and evil, it was love that had drawn him back into the world. I loved the author’s way of describing Max Demian, His appearance was so appealing and haunting at the same time. It totally suited the character that he represented.

Quote: “If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us.”

perpetually torn between:

taking classic literature seriously and over analysing every detail so that I can deeply understand themes, motifs and references and absorb every poetic quote into my being OR treating classics as if they were just silly little stories about silly little gay people doing the most weird, unhinged and out of context shit ever (which they are)

‘‘𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭. 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵’’ — 𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑜-𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑎, 𝑚𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑔𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐

‘𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑑’ — daphne du maurier, rebecca (1938)