It is perhaps analogous to the skull in a vanitas painting, reminding us of the transient nature of things. The motif of the grand mansion, or castle which has fallen into decay is common in Gothic stories. Interestingly both stories also hint at a medical theme, in one the hero is an invalid who is recovering from illness, in the other the hero is a doctor summoned to visit one of the strange inhabitants of the house. We are told at the beginning that the family are inbred, and the full horror of this is revealed through the story. Here, the protagonist, a doctor, visits a large dilapidated house, where the once proud family have been reduced to insanity and isolation. Jordan’s End by Ellen Glasgow is a more recent Gothic story, which uses this same theme.

The odd mix of beauty and cursedness gives an eerie, tragic feel to the story, and you get the impression of a once great dynasty falling into ruin, no so much through war or politics, but through their own isolation and vanity. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Olalla, is the story of a man recuperating in a beautiful secluded castle, he discovers more and more disturbing things about the ancient aristocratic family who live there. While the prince and princess within the Disney fairytale are portrayed as happy, healthy, beautiful and graceful, the aristocracy in Gothic stories are decayed and immoral. The aristocratic family is a common motif in Gothic fiction. The irony of the blue-blooded family is that in their efforts to not dilute their line, they create something grotesque.

Olalla robert louis stevenson summary