Gothic Elements In Mary Wolstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein

Frankenstein the horror novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, has many elements of a gothic novel about it. The story which tells about a man Victor Frankenstein creating life and the horrors that follow it has many dark themes to it. Frankenstein can be described as a gothic novel because of the violent actions and the almost gory details, as well as the love between Victor and Elizabeth, but it subverts this genre because of the main character Victor Frankenstein’s selfish desires.

Frankenstein is a very violent novel on multiple occasions. However, the most notable moment might be when the Creature violently murders William when he realizes that he is Victor Frankenstein’s younger brother. Shelley writes, “…I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet” (98). This violent way in which the creature not only does the murder, but also in the way the author describes it shows the novel to have aggressive elements.

Brought up as almost siblings the two have been expected to marry since they were both very young children. This does not seem to prevent the two of them from actually falling in love with each other though, as they both seem besotted with each other when one reads the novel. One could say that loving Victor is what killed Elizabeth in more than one way. It’s because of his selfishness that she ultimately meets her demise, and also his inability to see that the monster was going to kill her all along. Shelley writes, “… when I thought of my beloved Elizabeth, of her tears and endless sorrow, when she should find her lover so barbarously snatched from her…” (114). While Victor is worried about Elizabeth it is his own death that he predicts happening. He does not even consider the idea that the Creature could go after Elizabeth. Because of this, she is the one who dies and Victor is left powerless to try and save