The White Lotus and Gothic Literature

Discussed: The White Lotus, opera, gothic literature, aesthetics, ingenues, hotels, Mike White, beauty, sadness, sexuality, desire, Madam Butterfly

In this month’s conversation, Arielle and Gabe welcome guest critic Dustin Friedman to discuss how Season 2 of The White Lotus embraces a gothic literary tradition, the show’s thrilling sensuality, and whether or not Daphne is a tragic heroine.

Dustin Friedman is Associate Professor in the Department of Literature and affiliated faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at American University. He specializes in Victorian and modern literature, gender and sexuality studies, queer theory, and the history and theory of aesthetics. He is the author of Before Queer Theory: Victorian Aestheticism and the Self (Johns Hopkins, 2019) and Nineteenth-Century Literature in Transition: The 1890s (Cambridge, 2023).