Compare the ways in which the authors of the two novels create a sense of fear in your
chosen texts. You must include contextual knowledge. – 45 MINS TIMED
Both Stoker and Wilde create a sense of fear in the novels ‘Dracula’ and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’
through their use of place, the unknown, and characters within their writing; these are used in a time
of great change and discovery, and so therefore create a powerful sense of fear for contemporary
audiences.
One way in which the authors create a sense of far is through the gothic motifs of place via the
unknown; for example, one key and prominent factor in settings of both of these novels is the
difference between the East and the West. The East of London and the East of Europe are both
described using the lexical set of words connoted with sinister and terrifying, and are therefore seen
as dark, evil places. This is summarised by how Stoker has Harker describe the East as ‘the
thunderous [atmosphere].’ From the use of the adjective ‘thunderous’ you can infer that the East is
far more chaotic and sinister, which is emphasised by how Harker goes on to say how ‘all was dark’
when travelling through the East. This could be seen as the foreshadowing of the darkness and
evilness displayed by Dracula, and the tone of the rest of the novel. To a contemporary audience,
this would be a stark contrast to what they would have seen in the West of London (being those
were the ones who would be educated enough to read the novels), and so the descriptions of
Eastern Europe would be rather frightening and different to their world. This would also further
emphasise the world of change, as science was becoming increasingly prominent within society. The
gothic trope of darkness surrounding Harker is much like how Lord Henry is described as being ‘a
very bad influence over all his friends,’ before, what could be suggested as, coercing Dorian into
making a deal with the Devil. Wilde then shows Dorian’s descent into sordid places such as the East
London Street, wherein it is described as housing ‘dens of horror where the memory of old sins
could be destroyed by the madness of the sins that were new.’ The semantic field in this quotation
includes gothic tropes that further instil into the reader dark and evil images, helping to cement
these fears and ideas through the lexical fields of darkness and evilness. This would be particularly
fear inducing for a contemporary audience, as this particular environment was on the other side of
London, and therefore could creep into their lives if they were to go to an Opium den or stray onto
the path of hedonism, as Dorian and Lord Henry seemingly did. Furthermore, the threat of God’s
judgement that was so deeply engrained in Victorian England would heighten their fear of the
consequences of such actions. For a modern audience, the gothic and eerie atmosphere created
from these adjectives help to give a vivid image in the readers mind, and so whilst it would be less
terrifying, the gothic motifs of darkness and evil lurking in the shadows and the unknown is still
fearful. From this, you can infer that in both novels use the settings to create a strong sense of fear,
through how they manipulate the unknown and reader’s imagination, to implant descriptions of evil
in order to swell fear.
Another way in which the authors create a sense of fear is through the use of characters. Both of
the focal characters to the novels are those that are followed by the readers; however the
juxtaposition of the novels’ structure is that the audience are able to follow Dorian and his thoughts
through free indirect discourse, whereas the readers are only able to interact with Dracula through
small moments and glimpses in the same way as the other characters. Both ideas help to create a
sense of fear; for example through the free indirect discourse, we are able to track Dorian’s mind-
set, and when in scenes such as Basil’s death, we are able to understand how ‘the mad passions of a
chosen texts. You must include contextual knowledge. – 45 MINS TIMED
Both Stoker and Wilde create a sense of fear in the novels ‘Dracula’ and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’
through their use of place, the unknown, and characters within their writing; these are used in a time
of great change and discovery, and so therefore create a powerful sense of fear for contemporary
audiences.
One way in which the authors create a sense of far is through the gothic motifs of place via the
unknown; for example, one key and prominent factor in settings of both of these novels is the
difference between the East and the West. The East of London and the East of Europe are both
described using the lexical set of words connoted with sinister and terrifying, and are therefore seen
as dark, evil places. This is summarised by how Stoker has Harker describe the East as ‘the
thunderous [atmosphere].’ From the use of the adjective ‘thunderous’ you can infer that the East is
far more chaotic and sinister, which is emphasised by how Harker goes on to say how ‘all was dark’
when travelling through the East. This could be seen as the foreshadowing of the darkness and
evilness displayed by Dracula, and the tone of the rest of the novel. To a contemporary audience,
this would be a stark contrast to what they would have seen in the West of London (being those
were the ones who would be educated enough to read the novels), and so the descriptions of
Eastern Europe would be rather frightening and different to their world. This would also further
emphasise the world of change, as science was becoming increasingly prominent within society. The
gothic trope of darkness surrounding Harker is much like how Lord Henry is described as being ‘a
very bad influence over all his friends,’ before, what could be suggested as, coercing Dorian into
making a deal with the Devil. Wilde then shows Dorian’s descent into sordid places such as the East
London Street, wherein it is described as housing ‘dens of horror where the memory of old sins
could be destroyed by the madness of the sins that were new.’ The semantic field in this quotation
includes gothic tropes that further instil into the reader dark and evil images, helping to cement
these fears and ideas through the lexical fields of darkness and evilness. This would be particularly
fear inducing for a contemporary audience, as this particular environment was on the other side of
London, and therefore could creep into their lives if they were to go to an Opium den or stray onto
the path of hedonism, as Dorian and Lord Henry seemingly did. Furthermore, the threat of God’s
judgement that was so deeply engrained in Victorian England would heighten their fear of the
consequences of such actions. For a modern audience, the gothic and eerie atmosphere created
from these adjectives help to give a vivid image in the readers mind, and so whilst it would be less
terrifying, the gothic motifs of darkness and evil lurking in the shadows and the unknown is still
fearful. From this, you can infer that in both novels use the settings to create a strong sense of fear,
through how they manipulate the unknown and reader’s imagination, to implant descriptions of evil
in order to swell fear.
Another way in which the authors create a sense of fear is through the use of characters. Both of
the focal characters to the novels are those that are followed by the readers; however the
juxtaposition of the novels’ structure is that the audience are able to follow Dorian and his thoughts
through free indirect discourse, whereas the readers are only able to interact with Dracula through
small moments and glimpses in the same way as the other characters. Both ideas help to create a
sense of fear; for example through the free indirect discourse, we are able to track Dorian’s mind-
set, and when in scenes such as Basil’s death, we are able to understand how ‘the mad passions of a
