The term Gothic refers to a genre that came about in the late eighteenth century. It can be a type of story, clothing, or music nowadays. In this paper it will refer to a style of literature. A very good example of this type of literature is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. There is a sense of foreboding throughout the whole novel, which is one of the basic necessities of the Gothic. This theme of the Gothic has different characteristics that all fit into the story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster and make this one of the first horror stories every told.
The very first characteristic of a Gothic novel is its sinister setting. The opening sentence in Frankenstein sets the mood for the rest of the book. Shelley begins her novel with, "You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings" (p. 13). At this point in the novel, Walton is on a ship in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, on his way to the North Pole. He is being blocked from all sides by ice, and can see nothing but ice for miles. The landscape is barren, and all of his crew is in fear of running out of food and fresh water. This setting is very sinister in lieu of the imminent death that is facing the crew members.
When the scene switches to the life of Victor Frankenstein, the reader finds out that everything is wonderful throughout his childhood. Later, when he goes away to college in pursuit of knowledge about alchemy and other sciences, everything gets darker and darker. When construction of the creature begins, Victor describes his workshop as "a solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase. This is where [he] kept [his] workshop of filthy creation" (p. 53). He goes on to describe the "dissecting room" and "slaughter-house" that provided his material (p.53). This, too, adds to the sinister setting and evil undertones of the novel.
The setting also serves the purpose of reflecting the feelings of the characters in the novel. Whenever Frankenstein is upset or someone is going to jail, it is raining. A Gothic novel would not be complete without a lot of rain. ...
... middle of paper ...
...to Frankenstein ends up dying and even Walton is in danger of being killed if he stays out to sea too long.
Death, darkness, rain, and horror are all needed to make a good Gothic novel. Not only did Mary Shelly include all these things, she added a few to make the story even more interesting. Her novel meets all the characteristics for a work of Gothic fiction. As Malamund mentions, "Shelley's monster [is] at home amid the Gothic, and [is] able to march forward--undaunted by the landscape of terror" (p.45).
WORKS CONSULTED
Crowell, Thomas Y., et al. The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe. Boston: Desmond Publishing Co., 1902.
Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. 1818. England: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1992.
Malamud, A. "Frankenstein's Monster: The Gothic Voice in the Waste Land." English Language Notes 46 (1988): 41-45.
Parkin-Gounelas, Ruth. "Learning What We Have Forgotten." English Language Notes 39 (1987): 215-219.
The setting in Frankenstein is vivid and on the opposite ends of the spectrum to the setting in the poem A Cottage in Grasmere Vale. In Frankenstein, the novel is bookended by the setting as it starts off in the Arctic and also ends in the Arctic. These two settings, are in contrast as in A Cottage in Grasmere Vale the setting is scenic ‘Peaceful our valley, fair and green, and beautiful her cottages’ and in Frankenstein the setting is described as ‘those icy climes’ Shelley uses nature to represent Dante’s inferno and the ninth innermost circle of hell, the ninth circle of hell is for people who have betrayed god which is what Victor does by trying to change nature, and the setting is in the Arctic, surrounded in ice. Victor is fascinated with
Gothic Literature was a natural progression from romanticism, which had existed in the 18th Century. Initially, such a ‘unique’ style of literature was met with a somewhat mixed response; although it was greeted with enthusiasm from members of the public, literary critics were much more dubious and sceptical.
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.
' As he jumps from the window into the darkness, the reader is left to wonder what will become of him. Is the darkness and extreme cold a metaphor for the 'hell' he is now entering? Mary Shelley has enabled the reader to feel great sympathy with Frankenstein's monster. This was a creature who at first only desired acceptance from his 'master' but received loathing, hatred, and utter rejection. His change from an innocent being into a vengeful beast, we feel is the direct
Mary Shelley’s world renowned book, “Frankenstein”, is a narrative of how Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant chemist, succeeds in creating a living being. Although Frankenstein’s creation is benevolent to begin with, he soon turns murderous after being mistreated by humans. His anger turns towards Frankenstein, as he was the one who brought him into the world that shuns him. The Monster then spends the rest of the story trying to make his creator’s life as miserable as his own. This novel is an excellent example of the Gothic Romantic style of literature, as it features some core Gothic Romantic elements such as remote and desolate settings, a metonymy of gloom and horror, and women in distress.
An idea becomes a vision, the vision develops a plan, and this plan becomes an ambition. Unfortunately for Victor Frankenstein, his ambitions and accomplishments drowned him in sorrow from the result of many unfortunate events. These events caused Victors family and his creation to suffer. Rejection and isolation are two of the most vital themes in which many dreadful consequences derive from. Victor isolates himself from his family, friends, and meant-to-be wife. His ambitions are what isolate him and brought to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated by everyone including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge. All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein.
“I do know that for the sympathy of one lives being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely think and rage the likes of which you would not suppose. If I cannot sate the one, I will indulge the other.” (Shelley) Mary Shelley wrote the book Frankenstein which features many gothic elements. Some of the gothic elements in Frankenstein include dark setting and supernatural, but it sometimes gets confused with romantic literature. Shelley also had gothic element in her life. Frankenstein is the most recognizable moving piece to have ever been created.
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.
The term ‘Gothic’ conjures a range of possible meanings, definitions and associations. It explicitly denotes certain historical and cultural phenomena. Gothicism was part of the Romantic Movement that started in the eighteenth century and lasted about three decades into the nineteenth century. For this essay, the definition of Gothic that is applicable is: An 18th century literary style characterized by gloom and the supernatural. In the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a wide range of issues are explored. Frankenstein represents an entirely new vision of the female Gothic, along with many other traditional themes such as religion, science, colonialism and myth.
In this specific chapter, Victor's scientific obsession appears to be a kind of dream, one that ends with the creature's birth. Up until this point in the novel, Frankenstein has been playing god; he cannot-- or will not-- recognize that his obsession with “infusing life” into an inanimate body is fundamentally wrong. Shelley’s implement of stark contrast between the beauty of life and the ugliness of death (and thus his creature) plays an important role in illuminating Frankenstein’s reaction to the birth of his creation. The contrast used in this section words as a literary tool to describe Frankenstein’s descent from science into madness. The beauty that he saw in nature represents his love for science, while the wretchedness of his creation represents his immense fear of death. This contrast is necessary to understand Frankenstein’s personality in this scene. Frankenstein ironically describes his monster as “beautiful”, as was his intention during his previous work, while invoking an image of true horror in his description of a patchwork corpse that he himself is disgusted by (Shelley 60). The contrast between the creature’s features, from his proportionate limbs and “pearly” white teeth to his “watery” eyes and “straight black” lips, shows the attractive human qualities Frankenstein saw i...
Romanticism played a large role in the creation of gothic literature, and it was considered to be “a lunatic fringe version of romanticism” (Tiffin). Gothic novels often had a powerful unleashing of emotions to very extreme levels “beyond social constraining” (Tiffin). The genre’s character often had an excess of a specific type (Tiffin), and in an analysis of Frankenstein and Northanger Abbey, this excess can be seen in Frankenstein’s ambition and Catherine’s curiosity.
Nature is a key element in romanticism as the early romantics stressed the divine beauty they saw in nature. Mary Shelley uses the elements of nature to further the emotions of her characters and create a safe place for them to think. She also goes into the aspects of science and nature, "[Scientists] penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places” (Shelley 33). In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley creates a novel based around science overreaching to boundaries. Many scientific experiments of the early 1800s make an excellent base in history for Frankenstein. Trials such as biomedical trials that began during along with the continuing studies into human anatomy and the natural world. Weather is an important element of nature which is commonly used to reflect and supplement human emotions. After William’s death, whilst Victor is returning to Geneva to talk to his father “the heavens were clouded, and [soon] the rain was coming slowly in large drops” (Shelley 62). Therefore, the storm reflects Victor’s mournful attitude and as the storm p...
Monsters are often present in gothic novels; especially in those that combine horror and romance. A monster will be the cause of individual characters fears. Frankenstein can be linked to this genre in many ways, the most obvious link being the horror element of the story. The thought of someone created from dead flesh would have been a horrific thought back then and still would be now, also Victor playing god would have been considered terrible back then “A new species would bless me as its creator” the 1800’s were still very religious times and trying to create life artificially would have been condemned by religious people.
As can be seen Frankenstein utilises many of the conventions of the gothic genre and can thus be considered a gothic novel. Its links to the Romantic movement are also evident. The stereotypical settings, characters and plots, interest in the sublime, emphasis on suspense, the production of excessive emotion in the reader ( particularly that of terror and horror), the presence of the supernatural and the notion of the ’double’ are all features of Frankenstein that illustrate this.
Lord Byron, his Byronic heroes, and characteristics of gothicism play a large role in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. He tells his sister how his “life might have been passed in ease and luxury, but [he] preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in [his] path” (Shelley 20). Walton doesn’t care if he receives any profit from his line of work here, he just desires to be the one to put in the history books. He is “going to unexplored regions, to ‘the land of mist and snow,’.