Here be dragons: Lombroso, the gothic, and social control

Abstract

Purpose – To propose a radically new way to understand the science of Cesare Lombroso, the first scientific criminologist, and thus to broaden understanding of the origins of criminology.

Approach – Using both comparative and analytical methods, we locate Lombroso's science of criminal anthropology in the context of late nineteenth-century Gothicism.

Findings – Lombroso's born criminals were Gothic creations, holdovers (like the crumbling castles of Gothic novels) from an earlier, less civilized period, human gargoyles (like the characters of Gothic romances) redolent of death and the uncanny. Moreover, Lombroso's Gothic science, with its depictions of physically and psychologically abnormal criminals, contributed to a transformation in social control by scientifically legitimating the social exclusion and intensified control of those perceived as morally monstrous.

Originality and value – This study creates a new framework for understanding Lombroso's contributions to criminological science and social control. Moreover, in a way that is almost unique in criminology, it combines historical research in literature and art with the history of science.

Research implications – To a degree not usually recognized, a science and its social control ramifications can be shaped by the artistic sensibilities and cultural traditions of the period in which it develops.

Citation

Rafter, N. and Ystehede, P. (2010), "Here be dragons: Lombroso, the gothic, and social control", Deflem, M. (Ed.) Popular Culture, Crime and Social Control (Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Vol. 14), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 263-284. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-6136(2010)0000014015