Gothic Essay Using Sup Texts Edward Scissor hands and the novel Frankenstein

Gothic Essay

A study of the gothic is a study of the human nature. Discuss

During the 18th century, technology advanced rapidly and there was also much revolution in political ideals, the coming of the gothic genre was during this time and it was closely linked and reactionary with romanticism. Therefore, the study of gothic genre can be said to be a study of the human nature. It often dealt with such issues about how man can acquire too knowledge, how society rejects the less than average people who lives on the border of society through highlighting human emotions and the presence of supernatural elements. Gothic Texts such as the film Edward Scissor hands and the novel Frankenstein are some examples that explores the inner psyche of the characters minds, maximising suspense and fear through the use of a physically-disabled protagonist whose ultimate fate and violence are a result of the corrupted modern-society.

In both texts, the eponymous protagonist-Edward and the monster are created unnaturally by a “father” thus this notion of man playing god is present. Because of this abnormity, both characters are physically-disabled with Edward having scissors as hands and the monster being completely hideous which is evident through the lexical chain of gruesome descriptions “his skin lustrous black..yellow skin..watery eyes…shrivelled complexion..”. This physical unusualness is what makes them initially seem like the monster in the normal society. However, both Burton and Shelley elicit this sympathetic response from the audience because both Edward and especially the monster are so misunderstood. The frame narrative, Frankenstein is one of the ways that allows the audience realise a different side to the story as readers are able to understand the reasons behind the monster’s murders, thus allowing further depth in the exploration of the human nature because of the different point-of-views presented in the novel. Frankenstein overflows with letters, notes...