Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: A Gothic Novel

Instead of conforming to this perception, people were only led to believe the word to mean “dark and ominous”. Gothic architecture, with the foreboding atmosphere posed around it, correlates with the Gothic novel because it has been a prevalent backdrop to gothic novels in the 19th century, such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. These Gothic horror stories were some of the first examples of the horror genre, and are therefore vital for the understanding this field. In its historical context, the gothic horror genre is believed to have emerged as a response to a time of rational thought, the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. This intellectual movement a... ... middle of paper ... ...tablished in the modern horror genre, thus it is practical to observe the archetypes of the Gothic novel as well.

Two popular fictions that follow the themes and conventions of gothic fiction are Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Guy de Maupassant’s “The Horla”. Both are short stories that embody most of the conventions that can be associated with stereotypical gothic literary fiction. Both literary works use the deterioration of the human mind and the supernatural phenomenon throughout the story, a commonly used gothic convention. Although both stories are inherently different in aspects like narration, they are both successful in demonstrating the descent of the human intellect from obsessing over the unknown which only leads to self-destruction. Fear is a guiding force in both the short stories and the fixation the main characters with it only leads to their demise.

Fictional literature can be categorized into many different genres: drama, romance, science fiction, tragedy, comedy, horror, and gothic. Gothic fiction borrows from horror by sampling mystery, dire setting, and chilling architecture. Romance is sampled in gothic fiction by the use of characters, firm emotions, and misguided love. Greenblatt writes, " Gothic became a label for the macabre, mysterious, supernatural, and terrifying, especially the pleasurably terrifying, in literature generally; the link that Romantic-period writers had forged between the Gothic and antiquated spaces was eventually loosened" (584). Horace Walpole wrote The Castle of Otranto in 1764.

Also, the storm that approaches signifies upcoming evil (Gates 3-29). Bram Stoker incorporates many important Gothic elements into his writing, Dracula, which it what lead it to become such a well-known Gothic novel today. In conclusion, Gothic literature is a literature that has been around for over two hundred years and still continues to flourish today. Gothic literature consist of many gothic elements to make each novel more superior than other literatures such as romance and horror combined, as well as a dark and gloomy remote setting. Authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Bronte and Bram Stoker have different styles of writing to accomplish each story they compose.

The two authors create characters exhibiting powerful emotions and moralize through the usage of these emotions. 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. Several times in Northanger Abbey Austen’s main character, Catherine, gets caught up in her emotions.

There are specific themes that are usually always present in works that are considered to gothic in nature. Themes commonly found in gothic literature include: a setting in a dark, mysterious, or run-down place, an atmosphere of mystery or suspense, some type of ancient prophecy, omens or visions, supernatural events, women in distress, and women threatened by tyrannical males (Harris, 2013). At this point, it’s important to point out that Saterstrom’s novel contains four of the aforementioned themes. The setting of a gothic novel is extremely important. Historically, go... ... middle of paper ... ... apart and decay right before our eyes.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a classic example of Gothic writing. Gothic writing was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the early centuries, Gothic writing would frighten the audience and it was also used as a style of architecture. Dracula, which was first published in 1897, would definitely cause a shock as there was a supernatural being, roaming around sucking people’s blood by the neck. Gothic literature usually includes vampires, monsters or some type of ancient mystical creature.

“Like many movie versions of novels, Frankenstein featuring the actor Boris Karloff altered the story” (Hermansson). The movies that were made shows that this story is a big deal. When novels are turned into movies they are true classics. By looking at the main gothic elements and breaking them apart it will show that this is truly a gothic story. For example theme and setting are very important elements for this story.

Shelley uses the foundation of a Romantic novel to construct a work unlike any other of its time period. Several factors including tone, setting, and mood validate Frankenstein as a Gothic horror novel. Even though Frankenstein is frequently considered

Josh Barnette Honors English IV Mrs. Schroder 12/6/17 Frankenstein Essay Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was written in the early 19th century and contains many attributes of gothic characteristics in many different ways. Frankenstein carries many gothic characteristics, such as the mysterious and supernatural, the story taking place in a dark place, and the coming together of the mortal and the supernatural world. Shelley uses all of these gothic characteristics to her advantage when portraying the book as gothic and mysterious. Gothic Novels tend to focus on mysterious and supernatural things. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses strange circumstances for when Victor Frankenstein creates the monster.