There is, undeniably, no novel which epitomizes the popular Gothic structure more than Mary Wollstonecraft Shelle

Not content with merely exploring the traditional Gothic form, Shelley decided to introduce a decidedly feminine quality to her Frankenstein story. By exploring and literally exploding the 'myth' of motherhood, Mary Shelley created a new dimension to the genre, the "Female Gothic" ("Frankenstein: Birthing the New Female Gothic" ami.frank.html). Having recently given birth to a child who died shortly thereafter, Shelley employed the theme of birth, which had always been depicted as miraculous and beautiful, and put a terrifying spin on it as Dr. Frankenstein 'gives birth' to his creation. According to one literary scholar, it was her nouveau female Gothic style which separated Frankenstein from similar horror tales of the time: "Here, I think, is where Mary Shelley's book is most interesting, most powerful, and most feminine: in

While it was easy for Victor to cast the blame on his monstrosity, was it really the monster who bore responsibility for the murders, or the creator? When the monster confronts his creator, the ironic consequences of his actions are readily apparent: "All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind" (Shelley 61). This demonstrates not only irony, but a popular Gothic technique of 'visits from the dead.' After all, though the harnessing of electricity breathed life into the creature, he was still an apparition, nevertheless. He was a new breed of Gothic ghost, one of the "living dead," a scientific experiment gone terribly wrong.

The creature Dr. Frankenstein bore during one rainy night in his laboratory became the most frightening of any Gothic monster. He wasn't merely a singular ghost, but was a composite of all the dead spirits who had once given his body parts life. However, setting and ghostly monsters are not the only characteristics of this Gothic work. There is usually a fair maiden in distress, who requires the care of a dashing knight/lover, who serves as her protector, warding off any evil spirits who may cross her path (Pitcher 35). This is also supplied in Frankenstein, in the character of Elizabeth Lavenza. Adopted by Victor's parents, Elizabeth is the fairest and frailest of young ladies, having been seriously ill with scarlet fever as a child. She also provides the perfect Gothic contrast between darkness and light. Of his "beautiful and adored companion," an enamored Victor would say, "Everyone loved Elizabeth. The passionate and almost reverential

y's early 19th-century masterpiece, Frankenstein (actually entitled, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus). According to Greek mythology, Prometheus is a hero who steals fire from the heavens to serve man, but he is ultimately punished by the mighty Zeus, who chains him to a rock, where a vulture feasts on his liver. Inexplicably, however, the liver grows back each night. This reference abounds with Gothic possibilities, which Mary Shelley was, no doubt aware. She was long a fan of Gothic tales, and it was a night of story-telling in a Geneva castle which inspired her story. As she herself recalled in her introduction to Frankenstein, "The season was cold and rainy, and in the evenings we crowded around a blazing wood fire, and occasionally amused ourselves with some German stories of ghosts, which happened to fall into our hands. These tales excited in us a playful desire of imitation. Two other friends (a tale from the pen of one of whom would be far more acceptable to the public than anything I can ever hope to produce) and myself agreed to write each a story founded on some supernatural occurrence" (2).

Pelzer, Dr. Peter. "The Gothic Experience." (13 Oct. 1996).

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Approximate Word count = 2656
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)