The Gothic Theme In Frankenstein Essay examples

If there is one theme that the gothic novel Frankenstein expresses it is humanity. Throughout the text we are shown example after example of the little things that define humanity: curiosity, love, and mistakes.

In Bowen’s article, he discusses the different gothic motifs that make up gothic literature such as power and restraint, clashing time periods, strange places, terror versus horror, and a world of doubt. “Edward Scissorhands” has always been considered a strange film while We Have Always Lived in a Castle has always been considered a gothic novel. According to Bowen’s list of gothic motifs, “Edward Scissorhands” would be considered more gothic than the novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle because it fits more of the gothic conventions.

Frankenstein is considered a gothic novel that has different elements that combine to create what the story is. The story of Frankenstein has mysterious aspects that help the main character Victor create the monster.

Levine’s main argument is that although Frankenstein is a gothic novel, it is not a typical gothic novel with many realistic ideas. It aims to generate terror in the reader like other gothic novels but does not involve the supernatural. The events that Mary Shelley writes out in Frankenstein are not far from ordinary and the commonplace. Levine’s more interesting argument is that Mary Shelley’s use of the Gothic tradition allows her to dip in the imaginative and subjective inner truths that a realistic novel would not allow. For example how the characters reflect or double each other. Also most of the characters represent aspects of Victor Frankenstein

In Chapter five of Frankenstein’s, the details are very gothics. There is a dreary setting and very gruesome details. He describes how Frankenstein looks, he describes how he stole all of these parts from the graveyard and then describes how he looks. Then he describes how ugly Frankenstein is when he opens his eyes. Another gothic part is in victors dream. At first he sees Elizabeth in good Health, then it turns in to his dead mother, a very gruesome detail. Then it talks about worms. All of these elements suggest that Victors task is very dark, gruesome, and scary. Creatures following him. A Coach coming towards him that stops right next to him. Victor never tells Clerval what he has done, which is also very dark and Gothic. Victor looks

A gothic novel is an English genre of fiction that was popular in the early 18th and 19th centuries that combines horror, mystery, and death in a seemingly meaningful setting. Frankenstein took place in continental Europe, specifically Switzerland and Germany, with other parts taking place in Arctic regions. The location/setting is just one characteristic that makes this a gothic novel. Gothic novels consist of various elements such as; castle settings, atmospheres of mystery and suspense, ancient prophecies, omens, portents, visions, supernatural or inexplicable events, and numerous other elements. However, each gothic book varies because

In the 1800s gothic literature made its waves across England with many authors popping up including Edgar Allan Poe, Ann Radcliffe, Emily Brontë, and Mary Shelley. These authors wrote books like The Raven, Wuthering Heights, and Frankenstein. Authors of gothic novels typically included characteristics with their stories and that happens to include extreme landscapes, supernatural manifestations, ruined buildings, horrifying events, and a passion-driven villain-hero, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, these characteristics persist in the story.

Without knowing the feelings of Victor when his family and friends died, you wouldn’t know the impact the monster made on him when he murder his family. The novel would not have been as scary and considered a horror if the structure would have been modified to a different style. For example, if the monster would have narrated the whole novel it wouldn’t have been scary because the readers wouldn’t know how other people felt about him. Clearly, the type of structure for Frankenstein played a huge part in the novel’s

Gothic novels are known for involving supernatural elements and creatures to emphasize the feeling of mystery throughout the novel. In Frankenstein,

This is one of the greatest Gothic novels throughout time. The popular Gothic tales of Ann Radcliffe probably inspired Mary Shelley when she wrote this book. The settings in Frankenstein are typical Gothic, for example the school where Frankenstein lives in Ingolstadt, a large old building with large spaces. In these large spaces Frankenstein can create in secret and no one ever notice his work. Also the environment described when Frankenstein comes back to Geneva after the death of his brother, there is a thunderstorm the sky is dark and rumbles frightening and there are flashes of lightning: "Another storm enlightened Jura with faint flashes; and another darkened and sometimes disclosed the mole/../While I watched the storm, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with a hasty step. This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits;"(p.56). These dark surroundings even in daytime are

Since its arrival in mainstream literature in the late 18th century, the genre of gothic literature maintains its place as one of the most captivating and intriguing writing styles. Attributing to this popularity is the dark approach to romantic era works, resulting in novels full of death, mystery, and suspense ("The Gothic: Overview"). One of the earliest and most influential examples of gothic literature is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This novel remains one of the most popular and stolen-from classics in this genre because of Mary’s excellent plot and execution ("The Gothic: Overview"). In Frankenstein, Shelley creates the perfect piece of gothic literature by implementing the use of death, supernatural elements, and ominous settings to

This is where Victor’s monster explains that he knows he isn't a normal human and is a rejection from humanity. This gives a constant atmosphere of death and destruction. But the death is all caused by the monsters discovery of Victors notes in the woods, this made him feel rejected and outcasted by society. This would lead to Victor’s brother death and false accusation of the maid. Another scene that plays into the dark atmosphere is at the beginning of the book when Victor is found in a boat near death in the north

Gothic literature is generally a dreary, dark world where monsters can exist. Curses, prophecies, damsels in distress, heros, romance, and death; these are all things that can tag along with gothic literature. In the book Frankenstein you can see many of these elements show through, for instance the atmosphere the book carries is very dark, and gloomy. Another case can be shown by the monster that Dr. Frankenstein brings to life, monsters being a common appearance in many gothic stories. Lastly one could compare gothic literature to Frankenstein through the romantic symbolism shown by the death of the innocent.

Gothic novels came into place in the late seventeen hundreds betraying supernatural events, dishonor, death, and disaster. Gothic novels are significant, because it allows people to explore a different world through their own imagination, which condones hidden desires or curiosities. Frankenstein is a fine expression of a gothic novel where Mary Shelly uses different situations to have Victor Frankenstein create a monster “under the cloudy circumstances which victor gathers body parts for his experiments and the use of little known modern technologies for unnatural purposes” (Harcourt 1), being unknown by man for Victors creations in showing suspenseful innovations, reflects on the elements of a gothic novel. Mary Shelly Frankenstein shows how Victor Frankenstein strives for knowledge to go against the laws of nature and natural order. The natural order of a human corps is to be born, lived, aged, and to die then decomposed, but by Victor creating a man like being from human corps, off sets the natural order of mankind.

Enlightenment and Romanticism, Banerji asserts, are two fundamental literary traditions of Mary Shelley’s novel. As Frankenstein immerses in the intellectual conflicts that arouse with the Enlightenment by stating her belief that excessive rationalism can be dangerous and destructive. She expresses her belief of this danger by conveying her protagonist Vector Frankenstein as being consumed with an insatiable desire for knowledge (due to his rationalist upbringing/education) that ultimately leads to his creation of the monster. Banerji also points out the novels use of the typical gothic motifs such as the gothic’s tendency to blur the line between good and evil or the distinction between the “pursuer and pursued”. The novels use of horror versus