Dark skin itself functions as a moral and demonic signifier in Gothic fiction

Evidence

Zofloya’s identification with darkness is expressed through his physiognomy and supernatural powers. This “demonizing of dark skin” is linked with his magical powers, evil, and identity as Satan, all of which portray him as a “dark monster.” Zofloya the Moor is Satan. Either way you slice it, he is “the Devil, or the devil-within.” Like the Saracen giants of the past, Zofloya is “towering as a demi-god, with his plumed and turbaned head, his dark form contrasted.” The darkness of his skin is brought up repeatedly in the text. He has a “towering figure,” “dark brows,” and eyes that “shot fire.” Zofloya’s black skin, size, and malevolent stare are symbolic of his dark spirit, expressed in his speech, including, “Does the Signora believe, then, that the Moor Zofloya hath a heart dark as his countenance?” — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 498

Categorization

• XREF: Directly extends the reader’s core thesis — the racialized demon figure — connecting the Saracen giants of medieval romance to the Gothic Moor. Sharpen picks up on how physiognomy carries the inherited ‘dark monster’ lineage.
• DEFINE: Shows concretely what ‘demonizing of dark skin’ means as an analytical mechanism — physiognomy fused with supernatural power.
• SEED: Angle: tracing the dark-skin-moral-evil trope through a genealogy from Saracen giants to Gothic Moors to modern racial caricature.