8 of the Most Popular Steampunk Tropes with Examples

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Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that blends together technology and aesthetics of the future with those of the past. In particular, it focuses on a world where steam is still the primary source of energy, although it’s used in a more advanced manner.

While steampunk is a relatively young genre, it’s gained a lot of traction thanks to our growing fascination with alternate histories, real-world social dilemmas, and the retrofuturistic movement.

Common Steampunk Tropes

Steampunk is a hybrid genre, incorporating many elements from other genres of speculative fiction. This has given it a unique blend of tropes that are rarely found outside the genre.

Below are some of the most popular steampunk tropes you can find in literature and other media. Some people love them while others believe they need to be improved. What do you think?

Victorian Era Society

Steampunk is largely inspired by the Steam Age, especially during the Victorian Era. Because of this, the majority of steampunk fiction feature Victorian culture, from architecture and art to societal norms and practices.

This is most obvious in fashion. Characters regularly wear clothes inspired by Victorian society. Men wear top hats and waistcoats while women wear corsets and petticoats. To make them more steampunk-ish, other materials are added to the clothes, such as gears and brass.

Period pieces like goggles and parasols are also added in, along with modern technology that’s adapted to better fit the setting. For example, radio and television can be made to run on steam or some other energy source.

Gail Carriger’s Soulless exhibits this Victorian flair. The main character not only wears petticoats and uses a parasol, but is also pressured by society’s idea that unwedded women are unacceptable.

Gentleman or Lady Adventurer

A Gentleman Adventurer is a person of high status who lusts for adventure. He’s often bored by daily life and takes every chance to go exploring.

His considerable wealth and quality education are then used to finance and plan out these adventures. Apart from being the funder and the adventurer, he’s also often the scientist of the group.

The female counterpart is a Lady of Adventure. Apart from having the qualities of a gentleman adventurer, she’s also strong-willed and self-sufficient.

Because most steampunk fiction is set in Victorian-style societies, these two qualities ostracize the Lady of Adventure. Society expects her to be proper, but she often takes part in “unladylike” activities, such as adventuring.

Both archetypes are either seen as eccentric or complete social outcasts. Their peers consider them odd, and maybe even shun them because they don’t conform to the social norms required of their station.

They’re also often blended with the Swashbuckler character. Aside from their wealth and knowledge, they’re accomplished acrobats and fencers who regularly go on daring escapades and rescue people in distress.

A good example of this trope is Kate de Vries from the Airborn trilogy. She’s a stubborn, scientifically-minded lady who’s much too adventurous in other people’s opinions.

Brass and Cogs Everywhere

When any piece of technology is introduced, it’s probably made with brass and decorated with clockwork. It’s part of the steampunk aesthetic.

Sometimes there are practical additions to an item, but other times they’re just decoration. Equipment is wound up, engines use gears, and almost everything is covered in brass plating.

This is mostly done in automatons and animatronics. Think C-3PO just with brass instead of gold, and with a lot more clockwork.

A good example of this trope is in William Gibson’s The Difference Engine. One of the bars is served by a clockwork automaton, and submachine guns need to be wound up to be fired.

Mad Scientist

The mad scientist is a character who is scientifically gifted but can range from being odd to full-on crazy. They’re often the source of groundbreaking technology that’s desired by everyone. They don’t have much patience for society, and their grip on reality is often a bit wonky.

They can be good or evil, actively using their inventions for whatever cause they support. But mostly, they’re just there to invent for the sake of science.

They’re also prepared to take their experiments to dangerous levels. Because of this, they’re not only known for being bizarre, but also for their disregard of general safety.

The titular character in H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau is a classic case of this trope. Not only does he have a permanently disheveled look, but he also has a secret lab where he does weird experiments.

Steam Supremacy

In a steampunk world, gadgets and machinery are powered by steam. This extends from large-scale machinery that makes sense being steam-powered (like an engine), to ones that don’t seem so realistic (like guns and clocks).

While other types of energy sources are available, steam is the most accessible type. Usually, non-steam energy sources are rare or expensive to use. They’re either kept in reserve or are used exclusively by the elite.

While not strictly steampunk, Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Express is a great example. In a world with more advanced technology, Hogwarts decides on using a steam train as the main transportation to and from the school.

It is, of course, justified by the series’ internal logic. Technology regularly goes haywire when it’s near magic, so the less complicated the tech, the less magic interferes with it.

Magitech

While steampunk is largely about the steam engine, it also frequently combines technology with magical elements. This works because it treats magic as science instead of some unexplainable power.

In steampunk worlds, mechanical golems are powered by mysterious substances. Ships can glide in the sky because they’re propelled by otherworldly crystals. “Electricity” is generated by the processing of a fictional metal.

In addition, technomancy can exist in a steampunk world. In some circumstances, a school of magic can affect technology, or technology can grant people magical powers.

Magitech is frequently used in the Discworld universe. Its version of the camera is powered by imps painting pictures inside it. There’s also a magical A.I. called Hex, which has ants and cheese as part of its architecture.

Airships Everywhere

One of the most beloved tropes of the genre, the airship is the usual type of transportation in a steampunk world. They vary from classic wooden ships to real-life zeppelin designs, to more futuristic wooden and metal creations.

Because they’re the dominant form of transportation, aerial adventures are common in steampunk fiction. Pirates, couriers, and navies use them to move around, go on supply runs, and do aerial combat.

A good example of an airship is the Leviathan from the novel of the same name. It’s an engineered flying whale held aloft by hydrogen-filled bladders.

The Sky Is the Ocean

In steampunk fiction, the atmosphere is considered a parallel of the ocean. Creatures “swim” in it, ships glide through it, and islands float on it.

Societies often build their habitats, transportation, and culture around this. Children grow up thinking that land dwellers are inferior, airships are the main way to travel, and religions base their lore on the sky.

A lot of adventures in this genre happen in the skies. Aerial battles are described in detail, and the primary characters often have backgrounds that relate to the sky.

Jim Butcher’s The Cinder Spires exhibits this well. People live in huge, cylindrical structures thousands of feet tall and move around by using airships. The sky itself is home to unique creatures, including mistmaws, which are large enough to swallow a ship whole.

Reading Steampunk

Steampunk is an easy genre to get into, thanks to its frequent borrowing from other genres. Readers and viewers are able to recognize familiar elements of stories they like, giving them a good place to start.

What it has over other genres, though, is its playful and experimental reminiscence of the past. The culture and aesthetic of old societies are explored and added onto.

But more than that, steampunk considers the consequences of more advanced technology being developed earlier than it actually was. What would happen if the digital revolution had come about at the same time as the industrial age?

This speculation of technology produces the strange but wonderful contraptions that the genre is known for. It’s an outlet for creativity, not only for the writers but also for their readers.

Which steampunk trope do you love or hate? Share it in the comments below!

 

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