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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – Illustrative Example of Gothic Literature

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example of Gothic literature. With its heavy emphasis on tone and setting, and its signature dark narrative filled with flawed characters, gothic literature was a new sort of fiction in Frankenstein’s time, and Shelley helped pave the way for more to come.

The setting of a gothic novel is its most recognizable characteristic. Closely related to the architecture of the time, these monumental structures set the scene for some of the darkest works yet to come out of literature of the period. In the scene where Victor first creates the monster, the scene is set by saying “it was on a dreary night in November that I beheld the accomplishments of I toils”. When picturing this classic scene from Frankenstein, one’s mind often jumps to the image of Victor in his lab in the top spire of a gloomy castle, lighting hitting a rod on the open roof and sparking his creation to life. Of course, in the novel it isn’t quite so dramatic, but this is the sort of mood gothic writers often set (and that Hollywood producers often try to mimic). Moving across the vast European countrysides to a ship traveling through ice floes in the arctic, the landscape is almost as dramatic as the story itself, which is exactly what the classic empathic environment often found in gothic literature tries to do.

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The actual story of Frankenstein is a fairly dark, and almost sinister, one. Scientific advances are a common theme amongst gothic novels, but with a natural balance. Victor used natural elements to compose his creation, after studying science for years of his life through both childhood and school. He said that “it was the secrets of heaven and earth that [he] desired to learn”, but Shelley critiques his obsession with creating new life, and Victor realizes as soon as his goal has been completed that it was a mistake. The following events quickly spiral out of control, with much dramatic tension and more deaths than expected for the time.

This brings us to the idea of flawed characters in gothic literature, something that hadn’t been seen before. This was the first time that novels weren’t comprised solely of perfect figures with no noticeable downfalls. In Frankenstein, it would be difficult to point out a character who isn’t flawed in some way or another. While his monster was inherently flawed from the point of his creation, Victor’s flaws come in a more subtle way. He became quickly obsessed with science and the idea of creating new life, to the point where he would cause himself physical illness over it. His monster had a similar obsession, but with revenge on Victor. Even Walton had an obsessive personality, though he was able to learn from Victor’s perils and turn his boat back towards a safer lifestyle. It could be argued that the only unflawed character in Frankenstein is Elizabeth. She acts as the virginal maiden often found in works of these kinds, there for propelling other characters into action, but without really acting a part in the story herself. Most literature around this time (and today) is filled with passive women, but for a young female writer like Shelley it’s seen as strange. With its supremely flawed characters, dark setting, and combination of scientific and natural themes, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a perfect example of gothic literature. Though she was still young when writing it, Shelley was obviously a very educated young woman, capable of writing prose unseen by the people of her time. This made her the author of one of the very first gothic novels, a feat well fitting an author of her level.

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