Star Trek Discovery and the Female Gothic

Real world article

Star Trek Discovery and the Female Gothic: Tell Fear No

Summary[]

Blurb: While many scholars agree the Gothic mode has been a precursor to science fiction since Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Carey Millsap-Spears argues in this book that the made for streaming series Star Trek: Discovery draws on an even older gothic formula, namely the Female Gothic of Ann Radcliffe's romance novels, including The Romance of the Forest and The Mysteries of Udolpho. Millsap-Spears reads the streaming series through the lens of the Female Gothic, illustrating that each season contains the formulaic elements of a mystery, a gothic villain and heroine, an escape narrative, and the explained supernatural. In doing so, the author expands Star Trek scholarship and sheds new light on the intertextual connections between gothic literature and contemporary science fiction.

Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.

Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: "Haven't you ever been afraid of a ghost?": Gothic Romances, Star Trek, and Science Fiction
Chapter 2: "That Hope is You": Female Gothic Heroines and Michael Burnham
Chapter 3: "He Groomed You. He Chose You": The Gothic Villain and Star Trek: Discovery
Chapter 4: "That's How We Find Our Way": Escape Narratives, the Female Gothic, and the Voyages
Chapter 5: "I Like Science": the Explained Supernatural, the Female Gothic, and Star Trek: Discovery
Chapter 6: "Sometimes We Know the Role We're Meant to Play": Starfleet's (Ineffective) Gothic Heroes
Conclusion
Bibliography
About the Author