Gothic Heroine

If the heroines of original and Victorian Gothic romance literature were notable for being naive and virtuous and for possessing a temptingly latent sexuality that is the object of desire for a dark villain and a brooding Byronic hero, then today's romantic heroines have shifted with the societal norms and tend to be more complex, independent, feisty and ass-kickingly self reliant. Yet there is still something undeniably tempting and beautiful about the original incarnation, which represents an ideal of youth and beauty and naiveté that is sort of heartbreaking in its unattainability.

Serious issues of objectification and solid feminist argument aside, these female characters still spark our curiosity and imagination, can still inspire. And remain, if limited, beautiful.

There is also something fascinating about the other female of Gothic romance, the dark ladies, the femme fatale, the corrupted innocent, purity driven mad...

Read: The Castle of Otranto, The Mysteries of Udolpho, Wuthering Heights, Dracula, Jane Eyre, The Yellow Wallpaper, Northanger Abbey.

Picture-A-Day:
Frilly things in my backseat. My car, morning.

Listening to Phantogram.
Links to come...so so busy today.