Dive into the eerie world of Victorian horror as dreams unlock subconscious fears and desires, blurring reality in haunting narratives. Discover more here!
Great article. I liked the follow up where you spoke about the influence on later writers.
One of the best examples of symbolism/inner-character in dreams has to be Raskolnikov's horse dream from Crime and Punishment (which isn't exactly Victorian horror, but it's adjacent).
In the dream, Raskolnikov is a child. He remembers seeing a peasant beat his old horse to death because it wouldn't pull the cart. Meanwhile a crowd of onlookers jeers and laughs.
Dostoevsky packed seemingly every symbol of the novel into the dream: Raskolnikov's nihilism, his mixed cruelty and compassion, Napoleonic domination. I've read the dream half a dozen times over, and I still don't think I've caught everything there is to see in it.
Thank you so much! That dream sounds really interesting. I've got Crime and Punishment and you might have just convinced me to move it up my list 👍🏻
Great article. I liked the follow up where you spoke about the influence on later writers.
One of the best examples of symbolism/inner-character in dreams has to be Raskolnikov's horse dream from Crime and Punishment (which isn't exactly Victorian horror, but it's adjacent).
In the dream, Raskolnikov is a child. He remembers seeing a peasant beat his old horse to death because it wouldn't pull the cart. Meanwhile a crowd of onlookers jeers and laughs.
Dostoevsky packed seemingly every symbol of the novel into the dream: Raskolnikov's nihilism, his mixed cruelty and compassion, Napoleonic domination. I've read the dream half a dozen times over, and I still don't think I've caught everything there is to see in it.