Gothikana

Corvina Clemm is the protagonist and one of the point-of-view characters of Gothikana. Corvina is recruited to the University of Verenmore after Vad Deverell sees her while trying to track down a long-lost friend; her strange purple eyes connect to a prophecy from his childhood, and he uses his role on Verenmore’s board of directors to get her enrolled.

Corvina was raised by her mother, Celeste, who had undiagnosed schizophrenia until Corvina turned 18 and referred her mother to a psychiatric facility. Corvina has an intense affection for her mother, despite Celeste’s tendency to go without speaking to her daughter for days or weeks on end. Though Corvina understands that her mother was unable to provide her with adequate care, her faith in Celeste’s love is unshakeable.

Corvina often fears that she will inherit schizophrenia, as her father (who died by suicide when Corvina was a small child) also had the disease. The novel’s attention to The Fear of “Madness” is therefore presented as both part of the gothic atmosphere of Verenmore and as part of the scientific explanation of Corvina’s medical background. Corvina also has an acute awareness of the stigmas surrounding mental illness and mental healthcare.