Susan Hill's 'Women in Black' and 'Mary Shelly's 'Frankenstein'
The word gothic means 18th Century literature referring to a frightening manner of content being used.
I have chosen two gothic novels to indicate the typical features of a gothic novel. One is Susan Hill's 'Women in Black' and 'Mary Shelly's
'Frankenstein'.
These two gothic novels concentrate on the two major worries within society when these books were published.
Frankenstein concentrates on the pre-curser on science fiction. This pre-curser in Frankenstein is man's objective to play god.
Frankenstein was written in a period of time when science was elevating but society in general was afraid to accept a progress being made by man they preferred progresses justified by God. Mary Shelly could relate to her novel of 'Frankenstein' to the period of time when it was written because the many people living in the 18th century when she was alive, were driven by religion not by science and new revelations being made by man were considered to be playing god. In
Mary Shelly's Frankenstein she states in the introduction of the book that, during the time period when Frankenstein was written the majority of published novels were not gripping or new and her novel would make an unusual change to which society can relate to.
The Women in black concentrates on the grief when losing a young child. This was published in 2000 and it is relatable towards today's society because a lot parents today can relate to having children and know how protective they are towards their own children.
Personally since I do not have children of my own I found it difficult to relate with the grief the characters posses and from that my general interest in the story began to sway.
The typical feature a gothic novel possesses is setting the scene. The second chapter of The Women in Black concentrates on the surroundings, the author portrays the weather on a Monday afternoon in November as a lightning heart of change, never seeming to come fully light and also raw to and a yellow fog, a filthy fog, evil smelling fog, a fog that choked and blinded, smeared and stained. Susan Hill instantaneously creates a felling of ill being and fear. The novel begins in November which is a symbolism of death, creating negative atmosphere to begin the novel with. In comparison with Mary Shelly's Frankenstein this is very similar. When the creature Frankenstein is created, the Author portrays the weather and time of day as a, dreary night of November.
Also instantaneously Mary shelly has created a felling of fear describing the event to occur again in the month of November and also
The films Young Frankenstein and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest can be viewed as a critical analysis of society’s issues and dysfunctions in the form of satire and parody using humor. While Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks cinematic version of the gothic novel, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, uses parody in the form of Horatian satire, which is achieved through gentle ridicule and using a tone that is indulgent, tolerant, amused and witty. The film One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the adaptation of the Ken Kesey novel, uses a form of satire called Juvenalian satire which is demonstrated in the form of attacks on vice and error with contempt and indignation. Horatian satire will produce a humor response from the reader instead of anger or indignation as Juvenalian satire. Juvenalian satire, in its realism and its harshness, is in strong contrast to Horatian satire (Kent and Drury).
In an influential event in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a young servant, Justine, of the Frankenstein family is on trial for the death of the youngest son, William Frankenstein. She claims to not have murdered this young boy, for she cares for him greatly as if he is her own on the account of the cousin of the Frankenstein’s, Elizabeth. The Frankenstein family is attending Justine’s trial and Victor Frankenstein believes that Justine is innocent. Also, that it is the monster that he is creating who kills his youngest brother. Victor recounts as Justine enters the court room, “For all the kindness which her beauty might otherwise excited was obliterated in the minds of the spectators by the imagination of the enormity she was supposed to have committed” (54). Even though Justine is not guilty of this crime, the jury’s “imagination” is getting the better of them, instead of staying objective and looking at the facts and noticing Justine’s innocence. It can be seen in Justine’s appearance that she embodies innocence when it states “the kindness which her beauty might otherwise excited”, and before this trial it is seen by others as well. The jury is not using their “minds” to observe the evidence, which is the picture of the mother of the Frankenstein family, that is on Justine when is belongs to William. When Justine is giving her defense she states, “I rest my innocence on the plain and simple explanation of the facts which have been adduced against me” (55). Justine understands that her “innocence” will be known though “the plain and simple facts” that is not to be diluted by the “imagination”. Justine then realizes that the “simple facts” or the truth of her innocence will not overcome the jury’s already overactive “imagination” ...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein depicts how ideals can be received once they are fulfilled. As a cautionary example of negative reception of an ideal, Shelley uses Victor Frankenstein’s achievement of animating a lifeless corpse of mixed body parts. The actions and reactions of Frankenstein and the Creature highlight how making a dream a reality does not always yield a desired effect. Frankenstein’s images of unendurable ice emphasize Shelley’s admonishment of the danger of realizing an ideal.
In the gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley weaves an intricate web of allusions through her characters’ expedient desires for knowledge. Both the actions of Frankenstein, as well as his monster allude to John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Book eight of Milton’s story relates the tale of Satan’s temptation and Eve’s fateful hunger for knowledge. The infamous Fall of Adam and Eve introduced the knowledge of good and evil into a previously pristine world. With one swift motion sin was birthed, and the perfection of the earth was swept away, leaving pain and malevolence in its wake. The troubles of Victor Frankenstein begin with his quest for knowledge, and end where all end: death. The characters in Frankenstein are a conglomeration of those in Paradise Lost. Frankenstein parallels Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, as well as God, while his monster acts an Eve/Satan mixture.
As Human As It Gets In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley proves that things are not always what they seem. Harold Bloom, in the "After word" in the Signet Edition of Frankenstein states: "The monster is at once more intellectual and more emotional then his Maker"The greatest paradox and most astonishing achievement of Mary Shelley’s novel is that the monster is more human than his creator. This nameless being…is more lovable than his creator and more hateful, more to be pitied and more to be feared…” When one hears the word “monster” they think of someone who is evil and fearful, with no human like qualities at all. So how is it that Bloom can say that the monster is more human than his creator?
Events of the time had led to a near breakthrough to bring the dead to
Obsession is a state of troubling preoccupation, and is a mental state prominent in both Frankenstein and Rebecca; one which has extreme causes and effects. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein becomes obsessed with creating life, which later turns to obsession with destroying his creation. While in Rebecca, the main antagonist Mrs De Winter is obsessed with the deceased Rebecca. This unhealthy obsession later consumes the second Mrs De Winter.
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and William Shakespeare's King Lear. Two English literary works, one a comedy and the other a tragedy, by two different authors of separate centuries, both have their fair. share of characters who illustrate the admirable and the not-so-admirable of dispositions. Jane Austen's socially satirical novel Pride and Prejudice from 1813 and William Shakespeare's poetics.
In Frankenstein, Victor’s monster suffers much loneliness and pain at the hands of every human he meets, as he tries to be human like them. First, he is abandoned by his creator, the one person that should have accepted, helped, and guided him through the confusing world he found himself in. Next, he is shunned wherever he goes, often attacked and injured. Still, throughout these trials, the creature remains hopeful that he can eventually be accepted, and entertains virtuous and moral thoughts. However, when the creature takes another crushing blow, as a family he had thought to be very noble and honorable abandons him as well, his hopes are dashed. The monster then takes revenge on Victor, killing many of his loved ones, and on the humans who have hurt him. While exacting his revenge, the monster often feels guilty for his actions and tries to be better, but is then angered and provoked into committing more wrongdoings, feeling self-pity all the while. Finally, after Victor’s death, the monster returns to mourn the death of his creator, a death he directly caused, and speaks about his misery and shame. During his soliloquy, the monster shows that he has become a human being because he suffers from an inner conflict, in his case, between guilt and a need for sympathy and pity, as all humans do.
We all have expectations, something that we expect as a result of something we did, but what about the unexpected something that we did but never fathomed the consequences? We often times call the unexpected a “curve ball” and that’s exactly what happened to the couples in the short essays “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, they were thrown a curve ball. The couples in the short stories have extremely hard decisions to make. The woman have the most important decision to make and the men have to decide to support the women in the lives or make a decision to move on. Sheri will most likely have her baby because she cancelled the abortion and she has bonded with her baby in her womb, and Lane Dean Jr. will marry her because he realizes he loves her. On the other hand Jig will most likely have the abortion because she fears the American will leave her if she doesn’t, and the American will stay with her because now they can travel without a baby spoiling his plans.
We all have special goals and things we aspire to be. Often times, things do not occur exactly how we want them to. Those types of situations can leave us feeling defeated, especially when they go in direct opposition of what we desire. However, thinking pessimistically will only make that situation worse. It is essential to think of that hint of positivity in what you think may be completely negative. Doing this can make the seemingly atrocious events in life a lot more tolerable. You can drastically modify those unfavorable outcomes, even when it feels as if the world is crashing down on you, by taking a positive view of its effects and realizing that everything is meant to happen for a specific reason.
stupid. He was unable to talk or read. The monster would just rome the world
The significant role of women in the story so far is that they support and give advice to the main character, Victor Frankenstein. They also comfort the other male characters, like Mr. Frankenstein.
In many great works of literature, whether they be plays, novels, or poetry, the idea of masculinity is prominent throughout the novels because for an extended period of history, men were seen as superior to their female counterparts. As time went on, writers began to portray females in their work as more dominant and less frail. In works such as Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, and Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, the female characters are more assertive, while the male characters are submissive in comparison. All these plays were written in the mid twentieth century, a time where America was changing, and the stereotypical roles for people, especially women and African Americans,
“All things totally wicked start from innocence” (BrainyQuote.com). Throughout the beginning of Frankenstein, Victor tries to do good by creating a “monster” to stop people from dying. It is through these actions the Gothic elements can be seen. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein with such an eerie feeling, critics still value her work. “It is a hair-raising, chilling story of terror that more than an century and a half after Mary put down her pen still has the power to fascinate, frighten, and haunt its reader” (askwillonline.com). The Gothic elements can be found in Frankenstein through the atmosphere, Victor’s actions, and the creature itself.