Essay on Gothic Conventions in The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

In Ellen Moers’ critical essay Female Gothic: The Monster’s Mother (1974) on Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, she argues that Mary Shelley’s story is greatly influenced by her experience of motherhood. This essay uses the historical approach, biographical, and formalist approach at point. Moers references the cultural context of the novel, Mary Shelley’s experience as a woman and mother and how that influenced her writing, and focuses on the genre of the novel quite a bit.

One example of when the author causes us to be unsure of the truth is when he talks about the vietnamese man he killed. Then we find out that it wasn’t O’Briens fault from Kiowa to leave us in an even more confused state. He wrote this because he wanted to describe to us that even if he didn’t kill the man, it felt like he was responsible, because in a way he felt like the mysterious man was him. This particular event increases our understanding of the story because this is what it felt like to be in the war. You would blame yourself for the death of a fellow soldier or imagine your own self dead.

S-Town is a contemporary piece of Southern Gothic Literature because of the use of social issues, outsiders, and violence. Southern Gothic literature has been around since the early nineteenth century. This type of writing deals with the moral issues and conflicts surrounding the South. More contemporary versions of Southern Gothic Literature can be found today and differ greatly from classic pieces due to the elements inserted throughout the plot. Southern Gothic pieces of literature such as S-Town teach many moral lessons that people of today’s time can relate to. Elements such as social issues, violence, and the portrayal of outsiders make up the structure of the genre. S-Town is a contemporary piece of Southern Gothic Literature because of the use of social issues, outsiders, and violence.

When conferred with the word “romance” any type of scholar would most likely think of the modern day definition. However if one were to mention the same word to someone living in the late 1700s or early 1800s a much different idea would come to mind. Between the years of 1750 and 1837 literature had shifted from the Enlightenment Era, which focused on order, decorum, and rational control, to an idea that was radically different. Romantic literature of this time period directly opposed the literature of the prior time period. “Intellectuals of the age were obsessed with the concept of violent and inclusive change in the human condition” (The Romantic Period). This new style was a response to the revolution going on in France. The Romantics believed that this time of violence and revolt would lead to a universal utopia. Even after this failed, the Romantics continued trying to reform society through the arts. Gothic style writing also came out of this era. Gothic literature was dark, violent, and the main characters were often considered to be evil. In 1818, the epitome of the gothic romantic style was anonymously published. It wasn’t until 1823 that people discovered that it was Mary Shelley who wrote the astonishing novel. Her story, Frankenstein, included many romantic characteristics and themes throughout it. One of the major themes of the novel was individualism and egotism. The reader will also find numerous examples of mysteriousness, primitive living situations, and

In what ways can Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Be considered as a Gothic novel? Can Gothic literature still appeal to us today? Gothic Literature was most popular from about 1764 until 1832, a period of nearly seventy years. At this time there were many successful and famous authors who wrote books which contained a somewhat 'gothic theme'.

Thirdly, the superego. This develops later in childhood and tries to control the ego, compromising of two elements, the conscience and the ego-ideal. The conscience will punish the ego if it misbehaves, this being the source of guilt. The ego-ideal will reward the ego if it shows good behaviour, this being the source of pride and confidence.

     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 superego is a projection of the ego. It is the moral censoring agency; the part that makes moral judgments and the repository of conscience and pride. It brings reason, order and social acceptability to the otherwise uncontrolled and potentially harmful realm of biological impulses (Guerin 128-31).

However, According to Freud, the super-ego exists as a way to level out the ego, and, in a way, keep it in check. Therefore, the super-ego is responsible for an individual’s conscience, or, their ability to feel guilt. Freud continues his explanation of these concepts by asserting the idea that the super-ego calls our attention to our own failures and misconducts, and attempts to assist us in learning from them in order to avoid making similar mistakes in the future. Furthermore, the conscience is the form in which the super-ego controls our actions and thoughts, and creates guilt within us. Therefore, the ego is the decision-making, acting part of an individual, while the super-ego acts as the ego’s voice of authority and control (Freud).

Explain how the ego, id and superego interact. Use an example from your own experience.

Freud identifies an overwhelming sense of guilt as one of the central problems threatening modern civilization since individuals have consequently begun to rebel against civilization with an aggression that exceeds the level of aggression originally suppressed, threatening the disintegration of society, and attributes it to the operation of the superego, an internal psychical agency that monitors the intentions and actions of the ego, keeping the aggressive instincts of the latter in check. Essentially, the aggression that was initially directed outside of the self is redirected into the self. A part of the ego separates from the rest to form the superego. Conflict between the ego and superego creates guilt, a need for punishment. Another term for the superego is conscience. Freud traces the formation of

The area consists of all the internalized norms, values, and feelings that are taught in the socialization process. The superego brings the social pressures of reality to push upon the id. The superego exhibits society’s restraint on the id. When the id is saying, "I want that," the superego is saying, "Wait, slow down, think about this for a little bit. Is this right?" The superego acts as the mind’s conscience and responds to the social rules.

The Superego is representative of our conscience and is opposite of the id. “Superego” comes from Latin and really means “above the ego”. It is the greatest power of our mind. The superego is what most people would call the conscience or where a god would be. The Superego is a basis for how we view the world, social norms, and morals. Also, as the Superego portrays the conscience, it holds our sense of wrong and right. We have to follow the needs of the Superego or else we might feel some guilt or shame.

Frankenstein is a novel written by Mary Shelley. Frankenstein is about a man who had a strong urge to finish a scientific project and did not accept his consequences for his own mistakes. Mary Shelley’s work consists of Gothic elements and have great emotion that go along with them. Mary Shelley’s childhood may have affected her writing, she had a tough life growing up and her book shows this. Throughout the novel there are many Gothic elements that all contribute to the events in the book. Victor neglecting his own responsibility and disrupting the natural order of things ultimately leads to the death of the two major characters in the end of the novel.

The super-ego can be thought of as the conscience. It employs the societal concepts of right and wrong, which are typically introduced by a person’s parents (Weiten 364).