Abstract

The notion that there are psychological sub-texts to be found in Mary Shelleyís Frankenstein , Emily Bronteís Wuthering Heights , Robert Louis Stevensonís Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , and Bram Stokerís Dracula is unlikely to come as a surprise to most readers, let alone critics, of these classic novels. Whatís distinctive about Matthew Brennanís lively study of The Gothic Psyche: Disintegration and Growth in Nineteenth-Century English Literature is its thorough and systematic attempt to view these fictions through the lens of Jungian theory, in a manner mutually enlightening to both literature and psychology. "Jungís psychological notions about dreams appear especially promising for illuminating symbolic aspects of the Gothic, and in turn the Gothic offers insights that validate Jungís thought," Brennan asserts