Transmutation and Genealogy of Gothic Era: A Perspective

Abstract

For a long-time it has traditionally been understood that the development of the term Gothic was a distasteful objective of denigrating medieval art, medieval architecture, medieval decorum meaning barbarous or uncouth. Perhaps one of the reasons, why the term has not always been linear or culturally diverse. However, today Gothic has been metamorphosed into several genres and sub-genres and meanings, and has tainted others by expanding and adapting to represent various perception where the most fascinating element of Gothic is its imaginative exploration of quasi facets of culture, of human consciousness, such as body and mind in their peculiar, raced, gendered universal applicability. Sheer thanks to the noteworthy efforts of philosophers, topographers, archaeologists, painters, writers for their unflinching and delightful works that they began to use Gothic motifs in them, thereby enabling the audience to gaze on the gothic traces with a fresh eye. 

The purpose of this essay is therefore to discuss the genus of Gothic, the evolution of its cult and role in contemporary culture, its undergone continuous negotiations, transfigurations, and contestations, to reflect at the progress of Gothic ruins, stereotypes, and their influence on cultural norms, carrying with them a fondness with the complexities of human minds and a new understanding of history.