“The castle is on the very edge of a terrible precipice. A stone falling from the window would fall a thousand feet without touching anything! As far as the eye can reach is a sea of green tree tops, with occasionally a deep rift where there is a chasm. Here and there are silver threads where the rivers wind in deep gorges through the forests. But I am not in heart to describe beauty, for when I had seen the view I explored further; doors, doors, doors everywhere, and all locked and bolted. In no place save from the windows in the castle walls is there an available exit. The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner!”
-Stoker, Dracula
This quote is from chapter 2 of the novel and in my opinion really detailed the gothic writing abilities of Stoker. The meticulously explained details of the setting provide the reader with a growing sense of dread. The landscape is beautiful, but it is also overpowering with its large drops and chasms. This reminded me of Cohen’s thesis stating that fear of the monster comes from this sort of desire. The landscape is ominous but at the same time so beautiful that the narrator cannot help but look further. Our dread as the reader rises as Harker finds more and more doors bolted. The windows being the only escape coupled with the details of sharp drops out of the windows really serves to show the reader how entrapped this man really feels.
Question: What are certain elements of a setting that immediately give it a sense of dread before even meeting the inhabitants?
