Abstract
This thesis examines the ecogothic, considering how tenets of Gothicism can be applied in conjunction with the literary theory of ecocriticism. The primary texts analyzed are Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation (2014). Theories of Posthumanism, the “uncanny,” and material ecocriticism are considered in relation to these two texts as well as Gothic images of doubling and the Romantic sublime. The primary focus of this thesis is to examine the strengths of the ecogothic both in the earlier text of Frankenstein, written at the advent of industrialization, as well as the later text Annihilation, which is firmly entranced in the Anthropocene era. Finally, this thesis considers how the ecogothic can be useful in conservation efforts, particularly when considering a new type of “Nature” that has moved beyond the traditional landscape of the sublime to include areas outside of the “wilderness.”