Hell In Gothic Literature

When one is attempting to analyze a work, they must first know the background on the subject they are dealing with. For instance, in this case the background on gothic literature is needed. This movement was started in the late 1700’s in response to the romantic era. Whereas the romantic era romanticized science, knowledge, and everyday life, the gothic movement sought to show the opposite views. All classes were know becoming literate, and the upper classes worried about the influence of knowledge on lower classes. The fear was that uncontrolled learning as a child could result in imbalanced adults (C4 328-9, 40). Thereby a gothic work’s intent is to scare readers by showing the darker side of humanity, and what heinous acts a person may be motivated to commit (D2 4).
These fears manifest in the form of adults with uncontrollable actions and emotions (C2 328-9).
The gothic character normally suffers “Hell” inside of themselves. Whereby the term “Hell” can be entirely personal and consist of any individual’s greatest fears. Whether they are mental, physical, or emotional sufferings. Yet no matter which is the case, the “Hell” is the breaking point in an individual that causes them to no longer have basic core beliefs anymore, and what drives them to commit the heinous acts feared by society (A1 388-9). Thus the true intent of gothic literature is to show the transformations that take place inside of a human that can cause them to become monsters inside. The basic fear that human nature can be manipulated, and anyone can become a cold blooded killer is what drives gothic works. The cause of the imbalances in criminals is then attributed to childhood experiences, and uncontrolled learning (C4 328-9, 40). Thus when analyzed Frankenstein portrays a verbatim gothic representation of human nature since the characters all interact and personify gothic beliefs on said
subject.