Matching Pairs Themes in Gothic LiteratureOnline version list of themes found in gothic literature by Debra Waldorf 1 Power of Ancestral Sins 2 Sublime Nature 3 Fear of Machines 4 Madness - Your own or others 5 Supernatural 6 Powerful Secrets 7 Rational vs Irrational 8 Danger of Science 9 Struggle between World of Imagination and World of Reason 10 Dangerous Knowledge A character's madness may reveal a darker reality. Insane characters often speak truths that normal characters wish to deny. Knowing how to do something that maybe probably/shouldn't be done Fear of going insane or trouble distinguishing between fiction and nonfiction. Nature is awesome - an anti-depressant! Keeping secrets involves lack of trust, lies of omission, and outright lies. The fear that machines will overtake us. Otherworldly elements: ghosts, aliens, witches, etcetera Actions that cursed future generations or the fear that they will. Difference between what is real and what is not. People playing God