FUNCTIONS OF "GOTHIC" ELEMENTS IN JANE AUSTEN’S NOVELS
Gothic novels used to be one of the most popular kinds of literature in England at the end of the XVIII - beginning of the XIX <sup>th </sup>centuries. Though Jane Austen was familiar with this type of literature, she disapproved of them because of their numerous artistic drawbacks. It is commonly believed that this disapproval caused the author to choose gothic fiction as an object of literature parody. Nevertheless, a deeper literature analysis shows other functions of “gothic” elements (typical artistic means and plot turns) used in Austen’s novels, besides pointing out the genre flaws.