Stock & Proppian Gothic Characters
English Lit: OCR A Level Dracula, topic 4.1.1
Stock Gothic Characters
A stock character is a character type easily and quickly identified as recurring in a certain genre.
The aristocrat
- Often the villain, imprisoning the female victim.
- Examples:
- Manfred from The Castle of Otranto.
- The Marquis from Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber.
The sacrificial victim
- Typically a female character who is terrorised or abused by a male figure (often a family member).
The outsider
- A figure who is isolated (or exiled) from the rest of society.
- It is also the title of a short story by H.P Lovecraft, written in 1926.
The sage
- A figure who possesses crucial information that can help resolve plot obstacles and mysteries affecting the main characters.
Proppian Characters
In his study of folklore tales, Russian literary scholar Vladimir Propp identified eight stock characters, many of whom are found in narratives across literary time periods and cultures.
The eight stock characters
- The hero.
- The helper.
- The villain.
- The false hero.
- The donor.
- The dispatcher.
- The princess.
- The princess’s father (sometimes amalgamated with the dispatcher).
Characters in Dracula
- In Dracula, these roles could be assigned in the following way.
- The hero = Arthur - as described by Seward as he delivers the final blow to Lucy.
- The helper = Quincey Morris - Arthur’s loyal friend.
- The villain = Count Dracula.
- The donor and dispatcher = Van Helsing.
- In perhaps another slight at the concept of the ‘new woman’, Mina = the princess.
Test yourself on Stock & Proppian Gothic Characters
Who is the sacrificial victim often terrorised by?
Which stock character is often the villain?
Who is the helper in Dracula?
Who is the donor in Dracula?
Who is the hero in Dracula?