FRANKENSTEIN
The term Gothic conjures up images of frightened women, graveyards, and haunted castles in the mist, popular settings for horror films. But is this what Gothic means? The Oxford Companion to English Literature defines Gothic as, "Tales of the macabre, fantastic, and supernatural, usually set amid haunted castles, graveyards, ruins and wild picturesque landscapes" (Drabble 405). Furthermore, according to the Oxford Companion, Gothic tales "reached the height of their considerable fashion in the 1790's and the early years of the 19th century" (Drabble 406). It becomes obvious that Gothic is a literary term which describes a particular type of story and atmospheric surrounding. In so doing, it establishes a contrast between darkness and light, which evokes a sinister irony. In such tales, darkness often prevails, and according to literary scholars, elevated these horror stories into "Gothic sublime" (Bernstein 333). Specifically, the Gothic sublime symbolizes a "black hole which finally absorbs history into its own emptiness" (Bernstein 333). Gothic fiction is, quite simply, man taking a "walk on the dark side." There is, undeniably, no novel which epitomizes the popular Gothic structure more than Mary Wollstonecraft Shel
Mary Shelley does not provide any tidy endings in Frankenstein, which adds to its Gothic appeal. Readers are left to draw their own conclusions as to the meaning and the roots of the terror. Because the appeal of the Gothic novel was on the wane by the time Frankenstein appeared in 1818, it was the introduction of the science fiction element which rejuvenated the medium. As Professor Peter Pelzer wrote, "It proved that Gothic could be revitalized by reshaping it to meet the changing interests in society. Shelley combined the intended shock, the feeling of horror with the new interest in science and humanity of her age. On the one hand purposely rooted in the Gothic tradition, she was showing on the other hand the ways out of the Victor Frankenstein was a bright young man with a dark fascination which began as a child, with "the raising of ghosts or devils... a promise liberally accorded by my favorite authors" (Shelley 20). First manifesting itself as a deep interest in science while a college student, it grew into an obsession with the dead. While listening to his professor speak, increasingly tormented Victor lamented, "I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being: chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose... I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation. I closed not my eyes that night. My internal being was in a state of insurrection and turmoil" (Shelley 25). Many Gothic tales from the time involved people who were stranded in a haunted castle who were struggling to get out. In Frankenstein, the door between life and death was unlocked by technology, and once through the door, Victor Frankenstein knew there would be no turning back. Mary Shelley does not provide any tidy endings in Frankenstein, which adds to its Gothic appeal. Readers are left to draw their own conclusions as to the meaning and the roots of the terror. Because the appeal of the Gothic novel was on the wane by the time Frankenstein appeared in 1818, it was the introduction of the science fiction element which rejuvenated the medium. As Professor Peter Pelzer wrote, "It proved that Gothic could be revitalized by reshaping it to meet the changing interests in society. Shelley combined the intended shock, the feeling of horror with the new interest in science and humanity of her age. On the one hand purposely rooted in the Gothic tradition, she was showing on the other hand the ways out of the
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 5312
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page double spaced)
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