The Gothic Villain

"At the heart of every gothic tale, be it on the page or on the screen, is an eruption of supernatural chaos and disorder into the world"; the cause of this chaos is the villain.

In gothic film it is the presence, characterization, and action of the villain that causes a sense of disorder, struggle, and tension. It is also this supernatural figure that has contributed to the new characterization of the gothic film, the demise of its form as a genre to that of it as a stylistic element within other genres. From its early characterization as the classic 'unknown creature' to the more recent evil figure worth sympathizing, the villain is still the 'bad guy' character that is defeated.

This alteration in the villain's characterization has resulted from the changes in societal codes of belief and value. As society has become more complex so has the characterization of the villain, with its similarities to that of the heroine and hero.

The gothic villain is a representation of society's image of 'evil' or immorality. With the development of different codes throughout the century, "artists, writers, and creative people of all kinds are attuned to dominant codes and reflect those codes in their work" (Berger 154).

Jelena Momirov