Gothic Dementia

Troubled Minds in Gothic Timelines

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Gothic Dementia: Troubled Minds in Gothic Timelines introduces Gothic studies as a valuable lens through which to critically consider how we think about dementia. It argues that the Gothic's foundational narrative techniques can model approaches to similar dementia symptoms, such as chronological confusion, fragmentation, cyclical storytelling, repetition, unreliable narrators, unstable identities, uncanny behaviours, and Otherness. If we can navigate these challenging narrative elements in literature, can we navigate similar challenging dementia signs using interpretive strategies? Gothic Dementia considers this question in two ways: (1) through Gothic literary elements that correlate to characteristics of dementia and (2) through contentious horror film depictions of characters with dementia and their caregivers. Reading Gothic works and horror films within the context of dementia studies—and vice versa—can contribute valuable insights into a feared disease that threatens the core of who we imagine ourselves and others to be.