Effects of Gothic Literature in Saedi's Fear and Trembling Story Collection

One of the works of Gholam Hossein Saedi, in which the characteristics of the Gothic genre can be seen, is the collection of stories "Fear and Trembling". In this collection, which deals with the lives of the people of the southern coast, the author has crossed the boundaries of reality, filling it with apprehension and anxiety. The Gothic genre, which first appeared in architecture in the twelfth century and expressed mystery and horror, became a genre in fiction in the eighteenth century. In such works, the authors engage the readers with horror and mystery by creating a terrifying atmosphere and detailed and imaginative descriptions. The characters in these works are unbalanced, psychotic and sometimes criminal. The reference to secluded, remote, and uninhabited environments is another element of such works. In this series of stories, Saedi seeks to show the cultural and social backwardness of the beach dwellers by creating a frightening and sad atmosphere by referring to delusional and superstitious people and referring to the descent of calamity and death in various forms. Attention to the unnatural elements that bring this collection closer to the works of magical realism is one of the manifestations of the Gothic literature of this work.