The Gothic Novels of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
The word 'Gothic', taken from a Germanic tribe, the Goths, stood firstly for 'Germanic' and then 'mediaeval'. It was introduced to fiction by Horace Walpole in 'Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story', and was used to depict its mediaeval setting. As more novelists adopted this Gothic setting; dark and gloomy castles on high, treacherous mountains, with supernatural howling in the distance; other characteristics of the 'Gothic Novel' could be identified. The most dominant characteristic seems to be the constant battle between the good and the dark side of the human soul and how that, given a chance, the dark side of human nature will gradually develop, through the actions of the character in question, until it has engulfed the good, and also raises the theme of suffering and isolation. Other keynotes of 'Gothic Novels' seem to be the misuse or abuse of technology. For example, science is used to create new beings, the characters turning against or abusing nature and/or God, where the character may take on the role of God, the forbidden attraction of evil, the thrill of the kill, and death.
The novels Frankenstein, Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Confessions of a Justified Sinner all contain important truths about human nature and mankind. By looking into these three texts, I am going to explore exactly how they fit or do not fit into the various interpretations of 'Gothic' I have laid out.
The two most prominent themes in Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde are those of the 'misuse of technology'and 'the dark side of man and all its attractions.' These two themes are, in fact, directly linked with each other as it is as a r...
... middle of paper ...
... Making monstrous. Frankenstein, criticism, theory. Manchester University Press, 1991.
Boyd, Stephen. York Notes on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Longman York Press, 1992.
Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley. Her Life, her Fiction, her Monsters. Methuen. New York, London, 1988.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York:Dover Publishing, Inc., 1991.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 1886. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories. Harmondsworth: Penguin,1979. 27-97.
Svilpis, J.E. "The Mad Scientist and Domestic Affection in Gothic Fiction." Gothic Fiction: Prohibition/Transgression. Ed. Kenneth W. Graham. New York: Ams, 1989.
Using gothic conventions Frankenstein explores Mary Shelley’s personal views on the scientific developments, moral and economical issues that occurred during the 19th century and Shelley’s personal emotions and questions regarding her life. As an educated person, Mary Shelley had an interest in the development of the world such as political and moral issues and she challenged these issues in the novel.
For the author, the blues are more universal than a specific type of music. The narrator describes that the blues are "the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph." With this quote, the story "Sonny's Blues" is actually a blues piece: it starts with the suffering that the two brothers face, continues with their developing communion, and ends with brotherly love and triumphs over loneliness and suffering. The story "Sonny's Blues" is like Sonny's actual music, because it tries to bring people together and, through that link of grace and understanding, to relieve suffering. The author is not playing the blues but actually putting it down in writing. The title "Sonny's Blues" doesn’t describe the music Sonny plays but it tells Sonny's story of suffering and overcoming his obstacles, through his music.
Stevenson is most known for his many loved novels such as Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, A Child’s Garden of Verses, and Kidnapped (Life-Robert). The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written in English, around the year 1884 and published shortly after in 1886 (Wolf 22). In the first six months, the story sold over forty thousand copies in England (“Robert”). Concerning the popularity of Stevenson’s fiction, "Explanation of: 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ' by Robert Louis Stevenson" informs that when the books were imported to America, many people became disturbed. The American people claimed that the book had blasphemous topics. Besides the controversy that Stevenson’s novel stirred up, today Stevenson is one of the most known and translated authors of our time
The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is told through the protagonist Connie around the events of her loss of innocence through the demonic figure, Arnold Friend. The story is created surrounding true events of a murder of a young girl through the creative style and syntax of Joyce Carol Oates. Connie is caught in the sights of Arnold Friend and withstands mental and physical obstacles until her innocence is
Throughout the years, Gothic literature has developed to be a mirror representation of what the beliefs and thoughts of the time were. The Gothic has a tendency to express beliefs towards the socioeconomic, political and religious situations and grievances of the time. Many texts express this, some including Edgar Allen Poe’s The House of Usher and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, to then allow for the general public – at least those who were literate – to, subconsciously, understand the environment around them without being too direct. This gave the writers of the time a new channel, through this ge...
Robert, Stevenson L. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Dover Publications, 2013. Print.
Gothic literature was developed during the eighteenth and nineteenth century of the Gothic era when war and controversy was too common. It received its name after the Gothic architecture that was becoming a popular trend in the construction of buildings. As the buildings of daunting castles and labyrinths began, so did the beginning foundation of Gothic literature. The construction of these buildings will later become an obsession with Gothic authors. For about 300 years before the Renaissance period, the construction of these castles and labyrinths continued, not only in England, but also in Gothic stories (Landau 2014). Many wars and controversies, such as the Industrial Revolution and Revolutionary War, were happening at this time, causing the Gothic literature to thrive (“Gothic Literature” 2011). People were looking for an escape from the real world and the thrill that Gothic literature offered was exactly what they needed. Gothic literature focuses on the horrors and the dark sides to the human brain, such as in Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein. Gothic literature today, as well as in the past, has been able to separate itself apart from other types of literature with its unique literary devices used to create fear and terror within the reader.
New York: Norton, 2003. 146-49. Print. The. Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Gothic Excesses are signified by an “over-abundance of imaginative frenzy”, untamed by reason and unrestrained by “neoclassical demands for simplicity, r...
In Anne Sexton’s poem “Her Kind” the speaker appears to be woman who is dealing with constant feelings overwhelming her as being an outcast. These feelings the speaker portrays throughout the poem causes the speaker to not to fit into the guidelines society expects and forces the speaker to become a poor misunderstood woman. However, upon further review the reader observes the speaker actually embracing the negative stereotype of liberated and modern women and transforms it into a positive image. All the while two voices throughout the poem, the voice of the speaker and the voice of society, dual about the issue of the stereotype in modern women.
In her book, “Words Will Break Cement: Passion of Pussy Riot” by Masha Gessen, she describes the trial that Pussy Riot faced when they were charged for protesting inside the Moscow cathedral and the struggles they faced when entering the court. The trial of the Pussy Riot was focused on Nadya, Kat, and Maria’s actions during performance in the church, and I believe that their trial was unfair because of the prison’s lack of communication between the lawyers and Pussy Riot, the torture of Pussy Riot before and during the trial, and how Pussy Riot’s defense was unable to voice their opinion due to the judge’s interference.
Word by word, gothic literature is bound to be an immaculate read. Examining this genre for what it is could be essential to understanding it. “Gothic” is relating to the extinct East Germanic language, people of which known as the Goths. “Literature” is defined as a written work, usually with lasting “artistic merit.” Together, gothic literature combines the use of horror, death, and sometimes romance. Edgar Allan Poe, often honored with being called the king of horror and gothic poetry, published “The Fall of House Usher” in September of 1839. This story, along with many other works produced by Poe, is a classic in gothic literature. In paragraph nine in this story, one of our main characters by the name of Roderick Usher,
Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of the short story, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, was strongly influenced by the great developments in medical science during the Victorian Age. He was fascinated by its impact on everyday life, and his writings explored the questions and possibilities of going beyond mankind’s current knowledge. Exploring the excitement, doubts and curiosity of the Victorian people, Stevenson chose, as the novel’s protagonist, a scientist who exploits his profound scientific understanding of nature to his own uncertain ends. The norms of late Victorian years shape the fictitious psychological story known as “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”.
After the defeat of Macdonwald Banquo justifies his greed when he and Macbeth meet three suspicious ladies. The ladies known as witches in the story told Macbeth his upcoming fortune of power. Banquo says to Macbeth " My noble partner/You greet with present grace and great prediction/Of great having and high hope,/That he seems rapt withal. To me, you speak not./If you
The marriage stage in the family life cycles see one joining to another family to form a new family system. Then there is the adjustment stage within the marriage that speaks to some common areas of combining finances, their lifestyles, hobbies, sexual compatibility, and relationship with the in-laws. In the marriage stage the ultimate goal is to achieve interdependence that happens when you are fully able to enter the relationship with another person. The skill you learn from the marriage serves as a foundation to begin building other relationships such as parent – child. (www.google)