Romantic And Gothic Literature Movements In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Gothic Literature is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom, as well as romantic elements, such as nature, individuality, and high

popular at the time. The elements of a Gothic novel are, it is set at

Sometimes considered one of the first science fiction novels of supernatural terror, Frankenstein proved itself an instant success when released anonymously in 1818. The mad scientist Victor Frankenstein and his creation provoke readers with the fear of the unknown and the power of natures forces. A deeper look into the character of Victor Frankenstein, the role of scientific experimentation and the intricate settings of nature in which the story evolves, prove Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein , a worthy example of both Romantic and Gothic representation in nineteenth century British Literature.

Mary Shelley, with her brilliant tale of mankind's obsession with two opposing forces: creation and science, continues to draw readers with Frankenstein's many meanings and effect on society. Frankenstein has had a major influence across literature and pop culture and was one of the major contributors to a completely new genre of horror. Frankenstein is most famous for being arguably considered the first fully-realized science fiction novel. In Frankenstein, some of the main concepts behind the literary movement of Romanticism can be found. Mary Shelley was a colleague of many Romantic poets such as her husband Percy Shelley, and their friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, even though the themes within Frankenstein are darker

The above quote by Bloom is an explanation of the view that all the gothic novels are interpretation of psychological and social factors and this is especially true in the case of Mary Shelley. Shelley began her novel at the age of 18 when the most prominent materials in the consciousness and unconsciousness of Shelley were concerned with the conflicts stemming from the death of her mother. Frankenstein is the outcome of Shelley’s unresolved grief for the death of her mother which was the crisis she needed to work through to forget her own adult identity.

1One of the most well-known novels of gothic literature is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. 2Gothic literature is a style of writing that is used to portray the elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom. 3In fact, Frankenstein is considered one the first gothic science fiction novels. 4The story is set in Europe in the eighteenth century during the Industrial Revolution. 5The main plot of the story is about Victor Frankenstein’s success of restoring a dead body and the guilt he feels after.

This is shown through the treatment of a certain character within the book. When deciding whether Shelley's 'Frankenstein' can be considered a Gothic novel we have to take into account each aspect of a 'typical Gothic novel' and compare it with Shelley's work. In a Gothic novel the setting in which the story has been told usually consists of a grand castle, (or similar) which may be isolated or at least very mysterious.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published in 1818 and introduced many elements of Romanticism that were presented. Romanticism was a movement that was most popular during the 18th century particularly 1800 to 1850, this movement was an artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe that was characterized by many different elements that will be examine throughout. This movement is a rebellion against social rules and conventions. Romanticism was much different from how we partake it today. One may think that is based around love, kissing, and hugging but it is much more than that. This movement fell right into the area when Mary Shelley was creating her novel so it is obvious that she would jump on the bandwagon due to its popularity. The popularity of it would help her novel become more popular as well as allow for more in depth understanding of the principles she presented in her novel. There are many different romanticism elements in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that are presented while going through the novel. The elements that are most prevalent in the book are celebration of nature, juxtaposition of the beautiful and the gross, and valorization of the struggle of the individual against society. By quick note it is obvious that many of these elements are presented in the novel by anyone that has had the chance to read it. The novel emphasized inspiration, subjectivity, and the importance of the individual. Mary Shelley was brilliant enough to incorporate these

Throughout history, there have been many novels and short stories written in the form of gothic genre. This genre consists of different elements, such as damsels in distress, supernatural events, omens and turbulent weather. An embodiment of this genre is Marry Shelly’s Frankenstein. She incorporated supernatural events or happenings, such as the creation of Frankenstein’s monster. Furthermore, the atmosphere and setting during the first few chapters have shown many aspects of the gothic literature. Of the myriad gothic stories written, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is considered to be an important part of the gothic genre.

Mary Shelley uses her novel Frankenstein and the themes of gothic literature to answer the question about the pursuit of knowledge. Shelley believes that their should be a limit on how much someone should know. Without limits of the pursuit of knowledge one might contribute of the themes of horror and violence. With over pursuit of knowledge can add a mystery and supernatural element to the story. Nature also has an affect on the pursuit of knowledge.

Gothic Literature is a style of literature popularized during the late 18th century and the early 19th century with the publication of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This style usually portrays fantastic tales dealing with the horror, despair, the grotesque and other “dark” subjects. Characteristics of gothic literature includes the presence of victims and their victimizers who usually hold immense powers along with their evil purpose. The setting of this kind of literature generally takes place within impenetrable walls, whether physical or mental. This setting creates a sense of hopeless isolation within the victim. The summarization of the characters and situation creates an atmosphere pervaded by a sense of mystery, darkness, oppressiveness, fear, and doom.

Gothic Literature is a writing style that has dark setting, it has an overall atmosphere of mystery, exoticism, death. A Gothic story will revolve around a large, ancient house or an obscure setting that conceals a terrible secret or that serves as the refuge of an especially frightening and threatening character

Mary Shelley uses Gothic literature in her novel Frankenstein to prove that there should be limits on what mankind should know. Mrs. Shelley uses horror to show the fear that comes from overstepping boundaries. She also uses violence to show how knowing too much can cause mayhem in one's life, ruin their dreams and goals. Mary Shelley also uses the supernatural as an example of something we should not know too much about. Mrs. Shelley uses man as his own worst enemy to show that everything that went wrong was all Victor’s fault, because he learned how to undo death, a talent know one should have. Mary Shelley affirms that mankind should have limits on what they learn using Gothic

     Romantic writer Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein does indeed do a lot more than simply tell story, and in this case, horrify and frighten the reader. Through her careful and deliberate construction of characters as representations of certain dominant beliefs, Shelley supports a value system and way of life that challenges those that prevailed in the late eighteenth century during the ‘Age of Reason’. Thus the novel can be said to be challenging prevailant ideologies, of which the dominant society was constructed, and endorsing many of the alternative views and thoughts of the society. Shelley can be said to be influenced by her mothers early feminist views, her father’s

     The very first characteristic of a Gothic novel is its sinister setting. The opening sentence in Frankenstein sets the mood