Gothicisin

Horace Walpole introduced the first Gothic novel in 1764 with The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story. Gothic novels were usually
mysteries in which sinister and sometimes supernatural events occurred and were ultimately caused by some evil human
action.
The language was frequently overly dramatic and inflated. Following this movement was the Romantic Movement's fascination
with the macabre and the superstitious aspects of life, allowing them the freedom to explore the darkest depths of the human
mind.
Most critics agree that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein reflected her deepest psychological fears and insecurities, such as her
inability to prevent her children's deaths, her distressed marriage to a man who showed no remorse for his daughters' deaths,
and her feelings of inadequacy as a writer.
The Gothic novel usually expresses, often in subtle and indirect ways, our repressed anxieties. The settings usually take place
far away from reality or realistic portrayals of everyday life.
Shelley's setting, of course, is the exception to most Gothic novels. The fact that the creature wanders the breathtaking Alps
instead of a dark, craggy mansion in the middle of nowhere either compounds the reader's fear or makes the creature more human.

What is Gothic Romance?

 Gothic romance often deals with mysterious and supernatural subjects.
 Gothic stories frequently take place in ragged, natural settings, near ancient castles or
monasteries.
 The plots are suspenseful and usually deal with the forces of good and' evil.
 One of the earliest works of Gothic fiction is Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto
(1764). In his novel, Walpole challenged the realistic style of the time by writing about the
past and the subconscious.

Frankenstein as a Gothic Story

 A type of romance wildly popular between 1760 up until the 1820s that has influenced the ghost story and
horror story.
 Horace Walpole introduced the first Gothic novel in 1764 with The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story. Gothic novels
were usually mysteries in which sinister and sometimes supernatural events occurred and were ultimately caused by
some evil human action.
 It is a mixture of romanticism and horror.
 The stories are designed to the readers by
 Providing mystery and blood accounts of villainy, murder, and the supernatural
 The conventions include wild and desolate landscapes; (exotic places)
 Ancient buildings such as ruined monasteries, cathedrals, and castles with dungeons, torture chambers, secret
doors, and winding stairways;
 Apparitions such as phantoms, demons, ghosts, and necromancers; an atmosphere of brooding gloom; and
youthful, handsome heroes and fainting(or screaming) heroines who face off against corrupt aristocrats,
wicked witches, and hideous monsters,
 conventionally powerful or impetuous male figure threaten virtuous female characters (heroine in distress)
 The description functions through a metonymy of fear by presenting details designed to evoke horror, disgust.
 The supernatural is very very important in gothic novel but here it is not the supernatural as much as the
scientific so it is referring to scientific, the wrong knowledge and the new supernatural,
 Shelley's setting, of course, is the exception to most Gothic novels. The fact that the creature wanders the
breathtaking Alps instead of a dark, craggy mansion in the middle of nowhere either compounds the reader's fear or
makes the creature more human.
 Frankenstein is generally categorized as a Gothic novel, a genre of fiction that uses gloomy settings and
supernatural events to create an atmosphere of mystery and terror.
 The gothic descriptions of the tombs /parts of dead bodies/ the description of the ghost.

Gothic elements of Frankenstein

Gothic novels focus on the mysterious and supernatural. In Frankenstein, Shelley uses rather mysterious
circumstances to have Victor create the monster: the cloudy circumstances under which Victor gathers body parts
for his experiments and the use of little known modern technologies for unnatural purposes.
Shelley employs the supernatural elements of raising the dead and macabre research into unexplored fields of
science unknown by most readers. She also causes us to question our views on Victor's use of the dead for scientific
experimentation.
Upon hearing the story for the first time, Lord Byron is said to have run screaming from the room, so the desired
effect was achieved by Mary Shelley.
Gothic novels also take place in gloomy places that serve as a backdrop for the mysterious circumstances. Also,
faraway places that seem mysterious to the readers function as part of the Gothic novel's setting. Frankenstein is
set in continental Europe, specifically Swiss land and Germany, where many of Shelley's readers had not been.
Further, the incorporation of the chase scenes through the Arctic regions takes us even further from England into
regions unexplored by most readers.
Just the thought of raising the dead is gruesome enough. Shelley takes full advantage of this literary device to
enhance the strange feelings that Frankenstein generates in its readers. The thought of raising the dead would have
made the average reader wince in disbelief and terror.
Imagining Victor wandering the streets of Ingolstadt or the Orkney Islands after dark on a search for body parts
adds to the sense of repulsion purposefully designed to evoke from the reader a feeling of dread for the characters
involved in the story.
In the Gothic novel, the characters seem to bridge the mortal world and the supernatural world. The Frankenstein
monster seems to have some sort of communication between himself and his creator, because the monster appears
wherever Victor goes. The monster also moves with amazing superhuman speed with Victor matching him in the
chase towards the North Pole. Thus, Mary Shelley combines several ingredients to create a memorable novel in the
Gothic tradition.

Gothtic elements of Frankenstein

Gothic novels focus on the mysterious and supernatural. In Frankenstein, Shelley uses rather mysterious
circumstances to have Victor create the monster: the cloudy circumstances under which Victor gathers body parts
for his experiments and the use of little known modern technologies for unnatural purposes.
Shelley employs the supernatural elements of raising the dead and macabre research into unexplored fields of
science unknown by most readers. She also causes us to question our views on Victor's use of the dead for scientific
experimentation.
Upon hearing the story for the first time, Lord Byron is said to have run screaming from the room, so the desired
effect was achieved by Mary Shelley.
Gothic novels also take place in gloomy places that serve as a backdrop for the mysterious circumstances.
Also, faraway places that seem mysterious to the readers function as part of the Gothic novel's setting.
Frankenstein is set in continental Europe, specifically Swiss land and Germany, where many of Shelley's readers
had not been.
Further, the incorporation of the chase scenes through the Arctic regions takes us even further from England into
regions unexplored by most readers.
Just the thought of raising the dead is gruesome enough. Shelley takes full advantage of this literary device to
enhance the strange feelings that Frankenstein generates in its readers. The thought of raising the dead would have
made the average reader wince in disbelief and terror.
Imagining Victor wandering the streets of Ingolstadt or the Orkney Islands after dark on a search for body parts
adds to the sense of repulsion purposefully designed to evoke from the reader a feeling of dread for the characters
involved in the story.
In the Gothic novel, the characters seem to bridge the mortal world and the supernatural world. The Frankenstein
monster seems to have some sort of communication between himself and his creator, because the monster appears
wherever Victor goes. The monster also moves with amazing superhuman speed with Victor matching him in the
chase towards the North Pole. Thus, Mary Shelley combines several ingredients to create a memorable novel in the
Gothic tradition.