THE NEW FEMALE GOTHIC IN CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA

Abstract

Female Gothic constitutes a subgenre of the Gothic that focuses on the untold story of women. Replacing the stereotypical victimised feminine figure, Female Gothic allows its heroines to have agency and take action in their own narrative. This paper analyses Netflix’s newest teenage witch show Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018) in an effort to portray the emergence of the New Female Gothic heroine, who challenges normative institutions and questions authority in her home, at her school and in her church. This analysis intends a Gothic reading of the series in order to draw attention on the condition of the postmodern and postfeminist woman, as exemplified by the supernatural depiction of a young witch battling coercion and fighting for her right to choose “no”.