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Theme Of Gothic In Frankenstein

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Frankenstein’s monster could not have come out of any other genre of literature of the time, and Frankenstein’s experiments couldn’t have either. Shelley was very aware when creating ‘Frankenstein’ that the language and themes are most definitely gothic. The mysterious, dark and gloomy settings and overall tone of the novel are wonderful examples of Gothic tropes. The psychological effect of gothic literature does take its toll on its readers, the language and events are exhausting throughout ‘Frankenstein’. They are torn mentally and emotionally between mankind and his experiments in which he claims will do the greater good and the creature, who becomes abandoned and confused with no understanding of mankind. Subtler is the affective nature of Victor’s comfort with abandonment. We deeply sympathise with the monster despite him being a cold murder as we have an understanding that he is retaliating due to the harsh actions of his father/creator. Similar to Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is Mathew Lewis’s “ The Monk”, adopts the idea of an almighty controller who the reader is intended to trust, eventually revealing himself to be a sinner. Within Mathew Lewis’ “The Monk” the Romantic reader is very much drawn in by the charismatic and intelligent protagonist only for him to prove himself as an evil and untrustworthy character. The first incident whereby there is doubt as to the extremity of the monk’s punishments is when Agnes, one of the devote nuns of St. Clare is found to be

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