Why is 'Tell-tale Heart' a gothic novel?

 

Novels that contain characteristics of various genres like thriller, Romantic, mystery, horror, etc., are called ‘Gothic novels’. For example, ‘Frankenstein’ is a gothic novel, as it contains characteristics of horror, romantic, mystery, science-fiction novels. Let’s now look at ‘The tell-tale heart’, a novel written by Edgar Allen Poe. As we read this novel, we can know that this novel is gothic, as it contains characteristics from several kinds of genres.

To start with, this novel has characteristics of a horror novel inside it. A typical horror novel usually creates an atmosphere of fear and suspense. In the case of ‘The tell-tale heart’, this kind of atmosphere is created several times. On the night that the main character kills the old man, a fearful atmosphere is created from the moment when the old man wakes up, and the main character waits for the moment to kill the old man. The way that the old man is killed and concealed also creates a fearful mood.

Secondly, this novel resembles a Romantic novel. A romantic novel creates an atmosphere of strong feelings, such as passion, madness, etc. The tone throughout this novel ‘The tell-tale heart’ makes the reader feel a strong feeling from the novel. Throughout this novel, the narrator tries to convince the readers that he is not insane. Ironically, however, this actually results in a stronger impression that the narrator is insane, and by the end of this essay, the narrator eventually fails to convince the readers that he is not mad. This strong impression of madness in this novel makes it resemble a Romantic novel.

Third, this novel also contains characteristics of mysterious novel. At the end of this novel, the narrator starts to hear a noise, which is something which only the narrator could hear. This sound drives narrator crazy, and it actually makes the narrator to confess his crime of murdering the old man and concealing his body. Then, where did this sound come from? This question creates a mysterious atmosphere, as it makes the readers think carefully about the source of the sound. Moreover, the author doesn’t tell the readers about the source of the noise, which deepens the mysterious atmosphere of the novel.

This novel also contains characteristics of other genres like crime novel, thriller novel, etc. Like this, characteristics from different genres come together in this novel, and make it a gothic novel.