E X T E N S I O N GOTHIC AND SUPERNATURAL ELEMENTS IN WUTHERING HEIGHTS Where does the term Gothic actually come from and what are the characteristics of a Gothic novel? Technically speaking, the word Gothic refers to the Germanic tribes who invaded and destroyed the Roman Empire, and led to the Middle Ages. Medieval was then associated with dark (in fact, Middle Ages or Dark Ages) and the word Gothic, which originally meant barbaric, came to mean ugly, gloomy, sinister, cruel, dreadful and frightening. The English gothic novel began with Horace Walpole s The Castle of Otranto (1765). The name gothic was taken from the medieval setting1 of this story. Early gothic novelists usually set their tales in remote times and places, as for example The Monk by Matthew Lewis (1796). A gothic novel is usually characterized by a castle or building around which the story is centred. This is sinister and melancholy, often with dark corridors, attics2, basements3, winding4 stairs, candles and moonlight. Landscapes are extreme and rugged, with mountains, moors, forests or wasteland5. The novel frequently contains omens6 or curses7 and supernatural phenomena; there is generally a passion-driven hero and often a rather victimized heroine; there is always the threat of some terrifying 1. setting: the time and place at which the action of a novel takes place. 2. attic: a room below the roof of the house. 3. basement: room in a house below the level of the ground. 4. winding: following a curving path, not straight. 5. wasteland: an area of land which is not used for anything. 6. omens: signs of what will happen in the future. 7. curses: magic words said against someone to harm them. 8. dealings: business activities. 91