Comparing Frankenstein And Or The Modern Prometheus '
Alexa Irina Shorrock
Instructor Toni Weeden
Honors Senior English
14 November 2017
Gothic Novels A gothic novel can be defined as stories that combine elements from horror and romanticism. The main elements are gloomy and decaying settings, supernatural beings or monsters, curses or prophesies, heroes, romance and intense emotion (Marinaro, Francesca.). The book, “Frankenstein and or The Modern Prometheus” (Shelley, Mary.) could be considered a gothic novel even though it contains themes that incorporate other elements. Throughout the story, there are examples of each element of a gothic novel. The first example is the title of the book. The title of the novel references Prometheus who was a titan god that created mankind. Along with that, Victor Frankenstein created a monster. Throughout the novel, his creation is referred to as a monster because of his appearance. The creature had yellow skin that barely covered his muscles and arteries, black flowing hair, white pearly teeth, dun-white watery eyes, and his straight black lips (42). …show more content…
The setting is very important in a gothic novel.
It is what makes the novel a gothic novel. Without the right setting, it could be an entirely different genre. A gothic novel is normally set in dark, creepy settings. They are set in those places for multiple reasons. One is that the authors want to create terror in the reader. Along with that the author wants to use the realm of the irrational, meaning that they want to show what is lying underneath a person’s mind. They want to expose the fears and obsessions that wouldn’t be considered to be normal in society (Campbell, Donna M.). The book is set in dark and gloomy places. Victor locks himself in his room to work on the creating the monster. He also went on walks in the woods, went on voyages and went back and forth between his school and his
home. Intense emotion plays a big role in gothic novels. The characters in the novel may exhibit emotions that normally would be considered over the top. For example, the men in the story can be shown as very angry and filled with rage. Most of the rage is from inner conflicts. The women are often shown as the ones who get filled with such great emotion that they faint. They are also shown as being very curious. All characters are sometimes written as defying their own common sense and others to reach the end goal (Garcia, Alicia). In conclusion, I believe that Frankenstein should be considered as a gothic novel. The book has all the key elements of a gothic novel. The main focus of the story was about how a man was able to bring someone to life. That someone just happened to be a monster, but still they brought them to life. Along with that the story was filled with intense emotion, the setting of the book was in dark and gloomy places. Also the monster had put the element of fear into the mix. Just the way that the author described the monster, it gave it a horrific feel to it.
Work Cited
"gothic novel". Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon. Dictionary.com, LLC. 14 Nov. 2017.
Theoi Project © Copyright 2000 - 2017 Aaron J. Atsma, Netherlands & New Zealand
Atsma, Aaron J. “
Campbell, Donna M. "Novel, Romance, and Gothic: Brief Definitions." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University.
Instructor Toni Weeden
Honors Senior English
14 November 2017
Gothic Novels A gothic novel can be defined as stories that combine elements from horror and romanticism. The main elements are gloomy and decaying settings, supernatural beings or monsters, curses or prophesies, heroes, romance and intense emotion (Marinaro, Francesca.). The book, “Frankenstein and or The Modern Prometheus” (Shelley, Mary.) could be considered a gothic novel even though it contains themes that incorporate other elements. Throughout the story, there are examples of each element of a gothic novel. The first example is the title of the book. The title of the novel references Prometheus who was a titan god that created mankind. Along with that, Victor Frankenstein created a monster. Throughout the novel, his creation is referred to as a monster because of his appearance. The creature had yellow skin that barely covered his muscles and arteries, black flowing hair, white pearly teeth, dun-white watery eyes, and his straight black lips (42). …show more content…
The setting is very important in a gothic novel.
It is what makes the novel a gothic novel. Without the right setting, it could be an entirely different genre. A gothic novel is normally set in dark, creepy settings. They are set in those places for multiple reasons. One is that the authors want to create terror in the reader. Along with that the author wants to use the realm of the irrational, meaning that they want to show what is lying underneath a person’s mind. They want to expose the fears and obsessions that wouldn’t be considered to be normal in society (Campbell, Donna M.). The book is set in dark and gloomy places. Victor locks himself in his room to work on the creating the monster. He also went on walks in the woods, went on voyages and went back and forth between his school and his
home. Intense emotion plays a big role in gothic novels. The characters in the novel may exhibit emotions that normally would be considered over the top. For example, the men in the story can be shown as very angry and filled with rage. Most of the rage is from inner conflicts. The women are often shown as the ones who get filled with such great emotion that they faint. They are also shown as being very curious. All characters are sometimes written as defying their own common sense and others to reach the end goal (Garcia, Alicia). In conclusion, I believe that Frankenstein should be considered as a gothic novel. The book has all the key elements of a gothic novel. The main focus of the story was about how a man was able to bring someone to life. That someone just happened to be a monster, but still they brought them to life. Along with that the story was filled with intense emotion, the setting of the book was in dark and gloomy places. Also the monster had put the element of fear into the mix. Just the way that the author described the monster, it gave it a horrific feel to it.
Work Cited
"gothic novel". Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon. Dictionary.com, LLC. 14 Nov. 2017.
Theoi Project © Copyright 2000 - 2017 Aaron J. Atsma, Netherlands & New Zealand
Atsma, Aaron J. “
Campbell, Donna M. "Novel, Romance, and Gothic: Brief Definitions." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University.