Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, are both excellent examples of Gothic literature and the elements which set this genre apart from others. Each author employs such Gothic elements as metonymy, mystery and suspense, and overwrought emotion to create pieces of writing that have affected the way we tell stories even to the present day. Metonymy is an element that affects the way the reader interprets the scene without knowing it. In Gothic literature, metonymy usually makes for much “doom and gloom.” Blowing winds, howls, moans, sighs, and eerie sounds are all entwined within Frankenstein, illustrating Shelley’s use of metonymy. All of these are used to subtly reference the overall air of darkness and horror apparent in the novel.
This reversal of gender stereotypes and gothic conventions is used often in Carter’s work. In the Bloody chamber, it seems that although she has adapted gothic conventions into a modern way, presenting females as the more powerful characters than men, she also retains some of these typical roles in some of her stories. The lady of the house of love would be an immediate example of how Carter creates a role reversal that differs from the typically valued places in gender. Carter creates the role of the ‘Femme Fatal’, with this dangerous woman that lives in the castle. This representation of the woman as powerful differs from the original expectation in a gothic novel, as the woman would usually be portrayed as weak, and in need of saving.
They also notice "the gloomy curve of the moor" and "the jagged and sinister hills" in the distance. When Sir Charles and Watson arrive at Baskerville Hall, they think it is very gloomy, with its iron gates, the ruined stone lodge, and the long drive with dark trees hanging over it. The Hall has two Gothic looking towers, which are covered with ivy, and inside, the main parlor is darkly paneled. The dining room is also very dreary, and is decorated with intimidating portraits of stern ancestors. In the night there are frightening sounds.
Carter’s re-vision combines the man and the wolf literally into one character, the werewolf, and metaphorically by presenting “Little Red” in opposition to both ideas the two individually provided, danger and desire. Thus what results is a play on women’s positioning in a “sexually just society” –in quotations because while society is far from sexually just, it is apparent that Carter’s point is to emphasize female roles versus male ones rather than as a component of the latter. To suggest that “Little Red” is presented in opposition to the werewolf is not to say that she does not indulge the creature, as she most certainly does: “Commonplaces of a rustic seduction; she lowered her eyes and blushed” (1225). The suggestion is merely an effort to accentuate the fact that, in Carter’s re-vision, “Little Red” is an equal entity to the werewolf as woman is an equal entity to man, unlike how she is portrayed in the original fairytale as a mindless subordinate to male driven action. “Little Red” acknowledges this in Carter’s re-vision and seizes the opportunity to control danger and desire, two attributes that are ordinarily given solely to men.
Kathryn Goers ENG 346: Virtue and Vice in Gothic Literature Dr. Timothy Decker 5 November 2012 Sexuality? Predator vs. Victim Women in several known horror narratives, stories, and films, are highly sexualized. They aren't always seen as human, and are treated as victims. In his novel, Dracula, Bram Stoker is no different from other horror writers.
Washington Irving is identified with the gothic with his “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, however the gothic mode can also be identified in his story, “Rip Van Winkle”. To begin, both will be compared with their use of the Gothic Mode. Edgar Allan Poe’s writing set the mold for most gothic literature to follow. From “The Raven” to “The Tell-Tale Heart” his writing sets the reader on edge and fills them with unease. “Its style tends to be ornate, unnatural” (Carter 134).
In a gothic novel there are elements of horror, mystery and suspense. The gothic elements found in Frankenstein come from the ugliness as well as killings and death. There are other examples of a gothic novel such as remorse and sadness. The atmosphere in a novel gives another element of being gothic. The novel Frankenstein contains many of these gothic elements like the atmosphere, ugliness, killings, sadness and remorse.
English Frankenstein: response to reading How does Mary Shelley create tension and suspense in chapter five of ‘Frankenstein’? I shall address how Mary Shelly creates fear and tension, through analyzing her novel ‘Frankenstein’. The story notes that a character called Vector brings new life to a dead body, which creates the monster. The monster gains no love from the world and ultimately causes chaos. At first, I will analyze how Mary Shelly creates an eerie and ghostly atmosphere of her novel.
For a novel to be considered gothic, it must contain certain elements; Dracula reflects many of these unique principles. The setting largely affects the gothic feel of the novel. The medieval castle, the literally dark location, and the gloomy and suspenseful atmosphere, which are all utilized in the novel, are examples of a gothic setting. In his journal, Jonathan Harker described Count Dracula’s castle as he approached it: “...in the courtyard of a vast ruined castle, from whose tall black windows came no ray of light, and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlit sky” (Stoker 22). This quote shows the medieval castle aspect almost always found in the gothic novel type, but also even begins to set up the dark, gloomy, and uneasy atmosphere that is so important in this kind of literature.
In Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein she hits on many important themes. The most important of them all is the alienation and the loneliness of Victor Frankenstein and his creation; and how it influences the ending of the book. In Frankenstein, isolation only leads to despair, Alienation is the sense of not belonging, either to a community or to one’s own sense of self, alienation is the feeling of being alienated from other people, a separation resulting from hostility. And loneliness, which comes from alienating oneself, is a feeling of depression resulting from being alone, which is a part of alienation. The two characters in the book that were alienated and lonely the most were Victor Frankenstein and his creature.