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