The term 'gothic' has many different forms. The most important and original form is architecture during the medieval period. It starts out with the great cathedral, Saint-Denis, of Paris. Then the Westminster Abbey of London was built. These are characterized by their pointed arches and flying buttresses. Gothicism also came in the form of art. Tres Riches Heures du duc de Berry, by the Limburg brothers, showed elegance through statements in the best known way of gothic art. This popular style of art is called manuscript illuminations. Manuscript illuminations are text followed by decoration, usually gold. During the mid-18th century, literature took a new step having the first gothic novel, "The Castle of Otranto," first published in 1764. This novel was combined with a horror and mystery genre (Martindale).
Gothicism began to be apart of churches by having stained glass windows and pictures of biblical people. The style of nudity from Adam and Eve was also portrayed to be gothic. As Gothicism grew it rose to the 1980's and started a movement called punk, and later related to Fantasy Art. It then, in the 1990s, blossomed to what is called Neo-Gothic Art. It is inspired by Charles Alexander Moffat and is a period when the people wanted to express themselves as more than normal in a number of ways. A person of example would be Marilyn Manson, whose personal style and music is characterized as being "dark" and "mysterious" (Folkenroth).
Characteristics of gothic novels have scenes and settings where the character feels threatened, or has an overabundance of emotions, such as, anger, sorrow, surprise, and terror. We see examples of these in the novel "Frankenstein," by Mary Shelley. The monster feels sorrow and isolated and is angry when he thinks he has no purpose in the world he exclaims, "Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that ... instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know not; despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge. I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery (Shelley)."
Another example of gothic novels would be the creation of supernatural or inexplicable events, such as ghost and giants. But, in this case it is when Victor Frankenstein first created the monster out of dead body parts, and the monster came to life.
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.
Rousseau's ideology of education and nature laid the basic groundwork for many of the Gothic novels. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, was able to forge a bridge of thought that was able to span the chasm formed by the age of reason between the supernatural and reason. As a predecessor of the romantic movement, the Gothic novel was a direct reaction against the age of reason. The predominate idea of the age being that the world which is governed by nature is rationally ordered and given man's ability to reason, analyze and understand nature, man possesses the innate ability to use nature to create a rational society based on nature's dominate principles. The Gothic novel allowed the reader to pass from reason and order of the day to a region born of the supernatural which inspired dread and abounds in death and decay as nature's only true end.
The period during which Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein there were many scientific developments in the world, that contributed to the gothic genre of her novel as well as the author’s personal experiences. The main scientific development that possibly may have inspired the author to produce a gothic novel is similar to Luigi Galvani’s experiment, during which Galvani observed the relationship between electricity and life. In chapter four, Shelley has mentioned the scientific improvement that occurred during the 19th century: “when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics”.
Mary Shelley wrote the classic story, Frankenstein, in 1818. Throughout the novel Frankenstein, there were numerous elements that could be categorized as Gothic Romanticism. Elements that really stand out this particular novel are the appreciation of nature, the appreciation of the supernatural, and the amount of madness that is seen in the story.
C. Frankenstein serves as a model of Gothic literature by employing various themes that are prevalent in most Gothic literature.
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.
...physical or intellectual ability. Therefore, stereotypical women were not given much personality in Gothic stories. The woman tends to be the motivation and the hope that the readers look for after the dread and despair of the gothic literature's depressing setting. Searching for the positive is a common response from readers after experiencing the haunted castles, landscape, or buildings. Again, if there was not any optimism in the story, readers feel awkward and reject the story. These settings display the Gothic feel for the characters that enter along with the reader. Along with the scary places, the monsters or villain, also take part in setting the Gothic feel to the literature. Whether it is a vampire, witch, woman in distress, or hero with super powers, the terror and optimism is a must within the story (“Themes & Construction: Frankenstein” 2003).
Older Gothic literature was in castles and deserted buildings. Modern Gothic novels were written in more populated areas. Another text that can be classed as ‘Gothic’ is the novel ‘Frankenstein’. The reason for it being a ‘Gothic’ novel is the way it has a mutant character. Frankenstein is a mutant and is made by a crazy scientist ‘I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of.
In gothic novels tragic figures are symbols of pain to the characters. Victor Frankenstein brings misfortune to his loved ones, which concludes to his overall tragedy. Ironically the monster in this novel is Frankenstein the creator not the creature. He has seven victims including himself and his fall is due to his ambition to be superior.
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.
American Gothic stories also wrote about the supernatural such as ghosts, monsters, women in distress,
The literary elements of remote and desolate settings, a metonymy of gloom and horror, and women in distress, clearly show “Frankenstein” to be a Gothic Romantic work. Mary Shelley used this writing style to effectively allow the reader to feel Victor Frankenstein’s regret and wretchedness. In writing “Frankenstein” Mary Shelley wrote one the most popular Gothic Romantic novels of all time.
A common trend of the romantic era was the focus on emotional behavior. Throughout Frankenstein Shelley deals with some aspect of emotion, from the adoption of Elizabeth in the beginning of the novel to the death of Victor's mother. This focus on
In Gothic literature there are few important characteristics that act as the backbone of the plot and many of the circumstances. For example alienation, transgression, and supernatural (symbolism). Alienation can be defined as emotional isolated or dissociation from others. Alienation helps with character development. For example, a character being separated from their loved ones physically and mentally which cause them to feel isolated from the society and develop a new characteristic. Having a new characteristic usually lead to transgression, transgression is the violation of a particular moral or breaking rules in the society. Most of the time it happens to the protagonists of the story, a protagonist is “the main character in a story, novel, drama, or other literary work, the character that the reader or audience empath...
There is one known very influential writing style called Gothic Literature. It is not only considered to involve the horror or gothic element but is combined with romance, superstition, women in distress, omens, portents, vision and supernatural events to name a few (Beesly). The history and beginning of this era is not well known. From a few writers came this writing style that has impacted the world. A famous artists known for this type of writing is a man named Edgar Allan Poe. He wrote many short stories and poems that include horror, gothic, and romance just mentioned.