Rules about Gothic novels

Setting aside the fact that there are no rules, here are some more rules for novelists.  In a chapter in The Realist Novel, Richard Allen  explores the concept of the Gothic novel using Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as an example.  Notice the way one story nestles within another, in this case Captain Walton's letters to his sister are interrupted by the first person account of a stranger he rescues from the sea ice, Dr Frankenstein.  In chapter 11, the creature takes over as narrator.

   Although genres overlap, the Gothic novel has some quite distinct qualities which differentiate it from contemporary realist novels. Eve Kosovsky Sedgewick brought these criteria together in her book The Coherence of Gothic Conventions [1986].  These criteria go back a long way and can be seen in the novels of Ann Radcliffe from the 1790's:

1. The setting will include an 'oppressive ruin' in a wild landscape in a European country which is 'a Catholic or feudal society'.
2. One central character will be a heroine with 'trembling sensitivity' and her impetuous lover.
3. There will be a tyrannical older man who will have 'a piercing gaze' who will try to rape, imprison or murder the lovers.
4. The narrative will be interrupted by contrasting voices and letters allowing changes in point of view.
5. Common sub-themes include taking religious vows and monastic orders, altered consciousness similar to sleep or death, underground scenes, live burial and discovery of remote family ties.
6. Incest is hinted at, unnatural echoes or silences occur and the poisonous effects of guilt and shame recur.
7. Unintelligible writing is discovered, often described as unspeakable.

If you see a relation to Charles Dickens, Bram Stoker, Richard O'Brien and JK Rowling, it is clear how deeply the Gothic novel seeks to explore archetypes that scare us in all their forms, especially the territory which is just beyond the known daytime world.

    Notice how Dr Frankenstein's account begins in a realist frame [cf the Dursley's suburban residence of Harry Potter] and shifts into the irrational: fearful obsessions, unspeakable obsessions and isolation.  Frankenstein seems driven by his unconscious in a half waking state.  This adds to the impact of the novel by suggesting an 'unreliable narrator'. We recognise that we are entering the subjective adrenaline-fuelled experience of the character so that we can more easily overlook the fantastical elements.

   In relation to incest, Frankenstein has a strong bond with his cousin Elizabeth ['you are my children,' his mother tells them].  Jealousy plays a part in the  way the creature disrupts Frankenstein's marriage to Elizabeth.