Comparing Frankenstein 'And The Pit And The Pendulum'

Introduction

Gothic literature is known for its dark themes and spooky atmosphere, often getting associated with life and death. I have chosen to explore the theme “In Gothic literature, the veil that separates life and death is vague and frail”. This theme can be observed in the novels ‘Frankenstein’, by Mary Shelley, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, by Oscar Wilde and in the short stories ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ and ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’, by Edgar Allan Poe.

P1 - Frankenstein

In Frankenstein, through a series of letters, Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, recounts back to his sister his encounter with Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein sick and dying tells Walton his tale. Consumed by his desire to discover

In this story, the “Red Death” plagues the fictional country where it is set. Fearful of the disease Prince Prospero locks his castle’s gates and hides, ignoring all the poor people locked outside. Rich and conceited, Prospero decides to throw a masquerade for him and his rich protected friends. The masquerade takes place in 7 rooms of his palace, each associated with a colour. The easternmost room is blue, then purple, green, orange, white, and violet. The seventh room, however, is black, with red windows, and in it is a large ebony clock. All the guests avoid the seventh room, and on each hour when the clock rings they stop. However, on the twelfth hour, as the clock rings out and the guests stop, they notice a new guest. The new guest, dressed in funeral-like clothes and wearing a mask resembling a corpse, walks amongst the rooms the other guests frozen in their places. Prospero enraged, confronts the new guest dying immediately. The other guests rush forward, only to find that beneath the mask of the mysterious guest there is nothing. The story ends with all the guests dying as the Red Death infiltrates the castle. “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” Poe personifies death, gives him a physical form, gives him life. By doing this Poe is blurring the line

Hallward discusses his painting with Lord Henry Wotton, with whom he confides in that he dislikes the painting as it shows too much of his feelings for the subject. Lord Henry, however, disagrees believing that the portrait is a true masterpiece. After seeing the picture Lord Henry is convinced he must meet Dorian, despite Basil’s protests. After meeting Lord Henry, Dorian seems to change, no longer the innocent and unconditionally good person he was at the start. Slowly, throughout the novel, Dorian becomes more and more corrupted, despite having some inner conflict about his new personality. Much to Dorian’s dismay he soon learns that as he becomes more corrupt, despite there being no physical change to himself, the portrait Basil drew of him becomes more and more grotesque. Oscar Wilde gives Dorian Gray immortality and infinite beauty, at the small cost of his soul. Immortality is an impossible feat for anyone to achieve. By giving Dorian immortality Wilde thins the already vague line between life and death. The story ends with Dorian becoming so horrified of his portrait, and the fact that it refuses to return to its original state, that he attempts to stab it. Upon hearing a loud crash, his servants enter to find the portrait, unharmed, depicting Dorian Gray as the beautiful young man he was. And on the floor, they find the body of