Abstract

Gothic fiction often reveals a different sense of aesthetics to readers so as to bring them unique spiritual enjoyment. This paper discusses the gothic elements in Twilight, the most influential novel of Stephenie Meyer. Twilight tells the story of Isabella “Bella” Swan, a normal seventeen-year-old girl who falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The effect of Gothic fiction feeds on thrilling horror and Romantic literary pleasures. While focusing on the gothic tradition of the western culture, Stephenie Meyer makes some breakthroughs in creating those distinctive characters. This paper tries to explore the gothic elements in the book, from its setting to its characters, from ancient legends to its various themes, with a view to giving an interpretation of Twilight.

KEYWORDS:Gothic elements; vampires; characters

摘  要

哥特小说常常会给读者带来一种不同的审美感受，从而给人不同的精神愉悦。本文旨在分析探究《暮光之城》的哥特元素。《暮光之城》是史蒂芬妮•梅耶主要代表作，它不仅仅给我们讲述了主人公爱德华和贝拉之间的浪漫爱情，也给我们带来了很多值得思考的问题。梅耶在创作《暮》的过程中，加入了许多的哥特元素。一般说来，哥特小说通常具有恐怖色彩，加上一些浪漫的文学韵味。梅耶不仅十分重视西方文化中的哥特传统，在塑造各种人物性格时还取得了一些传统哥特形象的突破。本文将对《暮》中的哥特元素进行全面分析，包括对它的场景、人物、主题的分析，从而对《暮》进行一较全面的解读。

关键词：哥特元素；吸血鬼；人物性格

1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction to Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer was born on December 24, 1973 in Hartford, Connecticut. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. She attended Chaparral High School in Arizona. She then attended Brigham Young University in Utah, where she received a B.A. in English in 1997. Meyer met her husband when she was growing up in Arizona, and married him when she was 21. Together they have three sons.
Meyer was the biggest selling author of both 2008 and 2009, having sold over 29 million books in 2008 alone, with Twilight being the best-seller the year. Meyer was ranked 49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008", and was also included in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities in 2009.