Element contents
Series: Elements in the Gothic
Democracy and the American Gothic
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 June 2024
Summary
While the political undercurrent of the American Gothic has been firmly established, few scholars have surveyed the genre's ambivalent relationship to democracy. The American Gothic routinely undercuts centralised authority by exposing the dark underbelly of the status quo; at the same time, the American Gothic tends to reflect a widespread mistrust of the masses. American readers are too afraid of democracy – and not yet fearful enough. This concise Element theorises the democratic and anti-democratic elements of the American Gothic by surveying the conflicted imaginaries of the genre's mainstays, including Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, and Stephen King.
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- Series: Elements in the GothicOnline ISBN: 9781009279932Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication: 31 July 2024
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