Frankenstein as a Gothic Novel - Research Paper Example

?Outline Introduction 2. The main elements of a gothic novel 3. The fantasy in Frankenstein 4. The importance of settings 5. The main hero and hismonster 6. The nature in the story 7. The setting and its impact on actions 8. Conclusion Name Professor’s Name Subject Date Frankenstein as a gothic novel Introduction During the existence of mankind the fantastic has been acquiring different forms of personification in various directions of art. In literature the most significant personification of fantastic is the gothic novel that has always represented a very interesting style to analyze and has always meant much for literature as an old style that underwent much development. “At the time of the Gothic birth, the novel itself was a still fairy new phenomenon” (Cooper 25). Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is the bright example of a gothic novel. The style of novel has always been controversial: “Critics originally tried to assimilate Mary Shelley's novel to patterns already familiar from romantic poetry” (Fisch and Mellor 89). The innovations made by the author made critics doubt about the style of the writing. However, the novel is still full of the elements of gothic style novel. In the given paper we will consider the gothic novel, its main categories and prove that Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein can be accurately categorized as a Gothic novel because it includes many of the components that a gothic novel should include. The main elements of a gothic novel “There has been at least a mild debate about how "Gothic" Frankenstein is” (Hogle 178). Analyzing Frankenstein, some critics state that the novel is disturbing as it is full of passion, fear and sorrow. The question is: “when gothic horror became a recognized literary genre in the eighteens century, what ill effects did critic associate with it and why did they do so?” (Cooper 4). Gothic novel represents writing, where the stress is made on the great suffering of the main hero caused by a villain; furthermore the sufferings are usually thoroughly described by the author. The atmosphere of the Gothic novel is mysterious, often with elements of fantasy. The setting is dark and awakens horror and the feeling of inevitability with reader. The weather is usually dark and rainy that creates the needed atmosphere that is why it is usually described carefully in the gothic novel. All the events presented to the reader are full of horror that is dome deliberately to awaken fear. The fantasy in Frankenstein “The gothic posses a dangerous challenge to claims about the eighteens century enlightenment” (Cooper 29). Moreover, the superfluous descriptions of monster’s cruelty testify about the novel’s belonging to gothic style. “I want to argue that Frankenstein "registers traces of the [earlier] Gothic" that go very "deep" indeed” (Hogle 178). Fantastic is one of the central categories and in the gothic novel it is first of all connected with the common task of the ethical and fictional mastering of the Middle East; it actually acquires the new meaning and new functions, becomes the element of the outlook and comprehension of reality. “Frankenstein turns out to be one major apogee of the Gothic's development from the Walpolean ghosts of older ghosts to the ghost-like representation and sequestering of the abject”( Hogle 179). English gothic novel impacted the subsequent epoch of English romanticism, the tradition of “gothic” fantasy was clearly reflected in the writing of Mary Shelly. The importance of settings If the topic we raise is the bellowing of the novel to the gothic style, it is essential to analyze setting that was used in the story. Gothic setting has always been a background of a gothic novel. “Since the first gothic novels appeared in the eighteenth century the gothic has been no trial for creating unsetting realities” (Cooper 25). It was used by Bram Stoker to create his Dracula. The author of Dracula preferred to apply gothic imagery that was also used by Mary Shelly. Simultaneously in this relation the novel Frankenstein is full of new interesting techniques used by the author: “so, Frankenstein and the myth of creation embodied in it, not only brings us right up to date with the question pertaining to artificial intelligence” (Bann 15). However these techniques still prove the story to be gothic and their originality even makes it more gothic. “For me what seems "counter-Gothic" in Frankenstein is made possible by how extremely Gothic” (Hogle 178). The main hero and his monster The author of Frankenstein tells us the story of a person who is eager to gain new knowledge. “When Mary Shelly gave her intended “ghost story” a scientific contents of the double with technology” (cited in Levine and Knoepflmacher 16). He creates a real monster, who goes against the natural and violates the primary laws. This represents an innovation made by Mary Shelly “Victor’s discovery of the secret of life is fundamentally scientific” (Levine and Knoepflmacher 16). Victor Frankenstein, in absolute revulsion, leaves his monster that is hated by all the people but still needs love and care. “…Victor’s worst sin is not the creation of the monster but his refusal to take responsibility for it” ( Levine and Knoepflmacher 10). Leaving the monster alone was his horrible mistake that had unpredictable and awful consequences. This is what the nature and the weather tried to warn about. Setting reflects the sensation of loneliness and hopelessness of both Victor and the monster. It is difficult and interesting at the same time for readers to imagine the monster and his dreadful appearance. The nature in the story “The importance that Shelly places on nature throughout the story is obvious” (Wolf 6). The story seems full of darkness from the very beginning. Slight and short dramatic moments can’t be even noticed by the reader through the shroud of darkness. The monster was created in November. “The seasons of autumn and winter are the first he experiences in his life, since he was “born” in a “dreary night of November”” (Wolf 6). The dull and unexciting November is maybe one of the dullest months in the year, moreover it is the darkest time. The sky is low, the day is shot and sun is not shining: undoubtedly, the reader feels this atmosphere throughout the rest of the novel. There can be met slight and shot flashes of happiness that makes the story bright and romantic, but the reader can feel the doom skillfully conveyed by the author. Mary Shelly managed to awaken the feeling of unavoidable disaster and this presentiment becomes stronger with every next page of the novel. “Mary Shelly’s power of imagination is indeed justified” (Bann 6). For example, the scene with a terrible thunderstorm, with disgusting lighting that represents a typical gothic scene is used by the author to arouse the feeling of inevitability. Nature is the very important in the novel as thorough descriptions of nature makes the writing attractive for reader: “Frankenstein is not simply about creation and monstrosity” (Bann 2). The novel should not be only full of fear, it should contain other elements which should attract the reader. The scene is so brightly represented that remains in readers’ memory. “Here, nature takes a sublime character, which meant for the eighteenth century philosophers the meeting between the human mind and a great unknowable and potentially dangerous nature” (Wolf 6). The setting and its impact on actions Some critics states that Frankenstein “belongs to prophetic traditions open only one would have thought to mature literary imaginations” (Fisch and Mellor 3). Mary Shelly demonstrates how the different and impressive setting in the novel creates the atmosphere of the novel and inspires Frankenstein and his creation to act or deters their actions. The setting can significantly influence the actions in this kind of writing. It is not surprising as our mood is very often determined by our surroundings, by the weather. The monster with the childish intellect, who awakens the feeling of sorrow, kills the brother, the friend and the bride of the main hero: “the making of the Monster is at the expense of all of Victor’s immediate world” (Levine and Knoepflmacher 17). Frankenstein pursues him and appear in Arctic. Arctic is one more place that means much in the story. It was chosen by the author because of its coldness and emptiness. “The theme of ice is very important concerning Victor Frankenstein creation as well” (Wolf 6). It seems that it was done by the author deliberately in order to show the culmination of Victor’s tragedies and it was deserved punishment. On the other hand this seems natural: “without the wish to understand the functioning of nature and need for knowledge, which is inherent in human nature, the murders would never had happened” (Wolf 4). It seems that in the settings showed by the author it is impossible to do something good, it is possible only to kill, hate, revenge. “Victor Frankenstein as a manclaiming to acting for the benefit of humanity but in his egotism only succeeding in destroying himself and all those he loves”( Fisch and Mellor 89). Conclusion Thus, Frankenstein, a fantastic and dreadful novel by Mary Shelly, is a gothic novel as it comprises the important elements of the gothic novel. “…Mary Shelley herself, among others, foreground the ways in which the Gothic ghost of the counterfeit allows us to load the hollowed-out depths in the counterfeits of the past with the least acceptable, most heterogenous aspects of human being in the early industrial era” (Hogle 179).First, the plot contains the elements of fantasy, secondly it contains the descriptions of cruelty, the role of setting is very important, the nature descriptions are used to create certain effect. The atmosphere created by the author in the novel makes it one of the brightest representations of Gothic novel. “Frankenstein is reaching back beyond the Enlightenment to the tradition of natural magic…” (Bann 15). Dark and dreadful setting maintains the common atmosphere of mystery and fear that is also a very important feature of gothic novel. The plot is shrouded in the atmosphere of fear and horror and represents an uninterrupted threatening the safeness and respect of the hero. Monster who kills people and represents danger for the main hero presents in the novel. The setting is used with a purpose to awaken horror. All the main elements of gothic novel present in Frankenstein, therefore it should be deservingly recognized as a gothic novel. Works Cited 1. Bann, Stephen: Frankenstein, Creation and Monstrosity, London: Reaktion Books, 1994 2. Hogle, Jerrold E. “Frankenstein as Neo-Gothic: From the Ghost of the Counterfeit to the Monster of Abjection” In Between Cultures: Transformations of Genre in Romanticism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 176-210 3. Cooper, Andrew L. Gothic Realities: The Impact of Horror Fiction on Modern Culture, McFarland, 2010 4. Fisch, Audrey, Mellor, Ann K. The Other Mary Shelley : Beyond Frankenstein: USA: Oxford University Press, 1993 5. Levine, George Lewis, Ulrich C. KnoepflmacherEndurance of " Frankenstein": Essays on Mary Shelley's Novel, University of California Press, 1982 6. Wolf, Nadine. Nature and Civilisation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, GRIN Verlag, 2007 Read More