Soha Naseer (American Gothic)

5 most important ideas:

1. The hallmarks of the Gothic include a pushing toward extremes and excess that implies an investigation of limits. In exploring extremes, whether of cruelty, rapacity and fear, or passion and sexual degradation, the Gothic tends to reinforce, if only in a novel’s final pages, culturally prescribed doctrines of morality and propriety. (Pg 5)
2. Gothic interest in extreme states and actions can also be seen to correlate with widespread social anxieties and fears. (Pg 6)
3. Landscapes in the Gothic similarly dwelt on the exposed, inhuman and pitiless nature of mountains, crags, and wastelands. (Pg 7)
4. In Gothic the terror of what might happen, or might be happening, is largely foregrounded over the visceral horror of the event. (Pg 8)
5. One of the great strengths of the Gothic is its ability to articulate the voice of the “others” within its fancy-dress disguise of stylized conversations. (Pg 8)