Gothic Fiction in Twenty-First Century: A Psychoanalytic Study of Waters’ The Little Stranger

Clicks: 7
ID: 335442
2025
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #470 of 1,121 articles by views in Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 1,121 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
The present study aims to explore the shift in modern Gothic fiction from supernatural elements to realism and the way it incorporates psychological issues to induce fear in the readers. Gothic literature has been widely studied, but little attention has been given to the psychological aspect which this article explores. The current research is purely qualitative and analyzes Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger (2009) using the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud to understand the psyche of various characters. The concept of repression and drives from Freudian psychoanalysis give useful insights about the way various characters react to trauma. The analysis revealed that various characters seem to be working on the death drive, harming others, and in some cases, succumbing to self-harm and suicide owing to their repressed fears and desires, giving rise to a psychologically disturbing narrative. Future researchers can analyze other modern Gothic fictions to explore psychological dimensions of the work, using various other theories.
Reference Key
imported_1793229707_6ae2838b1007a Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Munazzah Rabbani
Are you one of these authors? Claim your profile
Journal Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review
Year 2025
DOI
10.47205/plhr.2025(9-III)30
URL
https://ojs.plhr.org.pk/journal/article/view/1263
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.