Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein - Original Writing

Gothic literature is a style of writing that contains elements of both horror and romance. This genre allows readers to experience a mix of horror and romance intertwined. Within the gothic genre there are elements of supernatural events, beings, and gloomy day settings. This style of writing became popular in the late 18th century and early 19 century. Many give credit to it’s uprising to author Horace Walpole, who wrote The Castle of Otranto (1764). His book contains all the elements that constitute the gothic genre. Frankenstein fits perfectly into the gothic category because the gloomy and mysterious setting is placed where most readers think of it as

Another character that creates fear for the reader and thereby creates a gothic atmosphere is Frankenstein’s monster. Its outer appearance is described by Walton as “… horrible […] that I shut my eyes involuntarily” (Shelley 221). Hence, the horror to the gothic element is added thorough the appearance of the monster.

This is shown through the treatment of a certain character within the book. When deciding whether Shelley's 'Frankenstein' can be considered a Gothic novel we have to take into account each aspect of a 'typical Gothic novel' and compare it with Shelley's work. In a Gothic novel the setting in which the story has been told usually consists of a grand castle, (or similar) which may be isolated or at least very mysterious.

In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein is as much as a monster as his creation. They are related in many different ways such as the fact that they are both isolated from society. While the monster isolated from society due to his physical features, Victor is isolated from his family and of his creation of the monster.

As scientists pursue the progress of their field, it would be good if they could do so to benefit the human race. However, if scientific discoveries are motivated by selfish ambition, and scientists do not take responsibility for them if they fail, their creations might become threats to humans. The novel Frankenstein, written by the English author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, tells the story of a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who unintentionally creates a grotesque creature in a scientific experiment, which causes tragedy including deaths of many innocent people. When people read this book, many of them might see the creature as a monster because the term “monster” commonly refers to an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening. However, this is only what the creature looks like, not what it might be like emotionally; also, people who appear to be normal outsides might be “monstrous” inside, such as Dr. Frankenstein. Indeed, while the creature is guilty of taking the lives of innocent people, if Dr. Frankenstein had taken any responsibility for it, and if humans had treated the creature humanly instead of being violent, it might not have turned out to be a killer. Therefore, even though the creature in Frankenstein seems to be the monster, since it has a horrific appearance, and eventually kills people, it is actually a victim; Dr. Frankenstein is the actual monster because he is the person who created

Many of Victor’s close family and friends experience the hatred of Victor’s monster, because they are the only ones that Victor feels any relationship with, but Victor’s relationship with them is unnatural. Victor also only has one friend, Henry Cherval and seems to have difficult time acquiring close relations with others. Victor marries Elizabeth, but his relationship with her seems to be one based more on his possession of her versus one of emotional capacity or love as Victor envisions, “[Elizabeth] was only to be mine" (Shelley 46). Victor sees Elizabeth as a prize or something to be owned, because “promised [himself] that from [his] detested toils it was the prospect of that day when [he] might claim Elizabeth,” that kept him going (Shelley 130). Victor does not perceive the aspects of a mutual relationship, for all of his relations are based off of his own selfishness.

What purpose does it serve to have multiple narrators telling a story? In Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein, three main narrators tell the story about the creation of a monster and the events that follow. The job of narrator shifts between Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the monster that Victor creates. As each narrator shares his own recollection of the events that occurred, new facts are introduced to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Although Frankenstein uses multiple narrators to tell the story, it is important to look at the effects it might have on the stories accuracy. In this essay, I will closely examine the motives, differences, and similarities of each narrator to see what influences, if any, they have on the narrative.

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

Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Island of Dr. Moreau are excellent examples of Gothic fiction. These stories deal with the forces of good against evil. The good forces are the family, social conscience, religious belief and moral judgement, all constituents of a civilized society. The evil side is the corruption of conscience, the misuse of power, violation of nature and rampant ego. The themes of each work explore the dual nature of mankind. Behind the benevolent face of civilization there still lurks the beast within every man and it is this fear that the protagonists exploit to justify their blasphemous experiments. The brooding gothic background is powerful vehicle for writers to express their unease regarding the imbalance between nature, science, man and spirituality.

Sometimes considered one of the first science fiction novels of supernatural terror, Frankenstein proved itself an instant success when released anonymously in 1818. The mad scientist Victor Frankenstein and his creation provoke readers with the fear of the unknown and the power of natures forces. A deeper look into the character of Victor Frankenstein, the role of scientific experimentation and the intricate settings of nature in which the story evolves, prove Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein , a worthy example of both Romantic and Gothic representation in nineteenth century British Literature.

“There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.” This quote from Mary Shelley 's classic gothic novel Frankenstein is very representative of the functional importance of gothic literature to humanity. Gothic literature can be viewed as the dark side of the human soul, as good usually triumphs over evil in storytelling; gothic literature is the release of all the darkness of the human experience usually embodied in a character. When used to describe literature, the word gothic is defined as 'of or relating to a style of fiction characterized by the use of desolate or remote settings and macabre, mysterious, or violent incidents ' (Webster). In addition to these stylings, there are several elements such as the supernatural, heroes, villains, and emotions that are very common of the gothic genre (Marinaro). Frankenstein is often viewed as the archetype of gothic literature, for the novel is certainly the most well known and studied literary work of the gothic genre, and also possibly because of its usage of classic gothic themes. Oscar Wilde 's The Picture of Dorian Gray, however described as gothic literature, departs from many of the listed classic themes. The following will examine the origins of the gothic novel, it 's characteristics, and how the British novels Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray exemplify, by usage

Mary Shelley creates a sense of gloom, mystery, and suspense, in her novel Frankenstein. The book generates these perceptions though the setting and the terrible events that go on throughout the book. Gothic novels came from the English genre of fiction popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Gothics are defined by the mysterious and horrific atmosphere, similar to that of Mary Shelley’s writing. Frankenstein is a gothic novel because of the combined elements of extreme and sinister landscapes, horrifying events, supernatural elements, and a passionate, wilful villain.

Even though it is mysterious and cannot be fathomed, just like Romanticism, the mystery in Gothic Literature is horrific, while in Romanticism it is beautiful. Gothic fiction relates to prudishness (especially in the Victorian era) as it focuses on taboo subjects, such as: sex, vice, and murder. Therefore, it is, to great extent, going beyond peoples emotional limitations. To add to that, the typical feature of Gothic Literature would be expressing nature in the threat of monsters, ghosts, or in other words, supernatural forces conflicting with humanity. On the whole, a great representation of these gothic and romantic influences would be the novel Frankenstein (or The Modern Prometheus) by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, which was published in 1818 and written during the Romantic Period.

Gothic Literature is a style of literature popularized during the late 18th century and the early 19th century with the publication of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This style usually portrays fantastic tales dealing with the horror, despair, the grotesque and other “dark” subjects. Characteristics of gothic literature includes the presence of victims and their victimizers who usually hold immense powers along with their evil purpose. The setting of this kind of literature generally takes place within impenetrable walls, whether physical or mental. This setting creates a sense of hopeless isolation within the victim. The summarization of the characters and situation creates an atmosphere pervaded by a sense of mystery, darkness, oppressiveness, fear, and doom.

One of the most important aspects of any Gothic novel is setting. Mary Shelly's Frankenstein is an innovative and disturbing work that weaves a tale of passion, misery, dread, and remorse. Some would argue that Frankenstein is a classic Gothic novel. By a classically Gothic novel it is meant that the story employs a traditionally scary theme. This could include such things as dark and dreary castles set in isolated surroundings replete with dungeons. Supernatural beings such as ghosts and living dead may be included in the twisted, thrilling, unveiling tale. The novel does contain many Gothic characteristics in a sense that it does explore