Analyse chapter 4 of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and explore the extent to which it fits into the genre of the gothic novel and reflects the fears and concerns from the era in which the novel was written. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, contains features of gothic literature throughout the book. However this is most prevalent in chapter 4. From this chapter there are plenty of distinctive features which are conveyed through the creation of the monster and also through the setting. The language techniques that Shelley uses in the novel represent the genre of the gothic and also portray the fears and concerns about the era in which it was written.
The settings presented are also dark and eeire, and Dracula himself lives in solitude with no other companion. The film adaptation of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ is just as reliant on the conventions of Gothic fiction (a genre that was extremely popular in the early nineteenth century when the book was written) as the novel, making it not only follow nicely in the novel’s footsteps but also proving to be a chilling delight for the viewing audience. Gothic fiction traditionally includes elements such as wild landscapes, eerie castles, darkness, and decay, isolation, security, the supernatural and innocent maidens threatened by unspeakable evil. Stoker has utilized all of the above and consequently, as does this film adaptation. An example of this would be in the theme of isolation as Dracula’s castle is hidden in the recesses of Transylvania, kept away from civilization of any description.
In her novel Frankenstein, she creates her own gothic novel by the classical elements of a dark setting, the use of a villainous character, and the mysterious tone. Initially, Mary Shelley uses a dark setting to portray Frankenstein as a gothic novel. The dark setting pushes the plot and creates the essence of many of the scenes in this sinister story. Once Dr. Frankenstein decides to sneak into an uncanny cemetery and steals a body, the setting allows the exposure of his ominous fascination. He looks down at the lifeless body and his instruments "on a dreary night of November" and "the rain pattered dismally against the panes."
At the end, he unintentionally calls the Devil and is whisked away by The Devil ending the story. Another element of gothic literature that can be found in “The Devil and Tom Walker” is a gloomy and depressing setting. The setting in gothic literature is often cold, dark, and gloomy. The setting in this story is one of the best possible settings use as example of gothic literature because it has all of these elements. “The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, some of them ninety feet high; which made it dark at noonday,
Another element is an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. Throughout the novel readers are kept wondering about different situations such as Lucy’s fate, Dracula’s next victim, and Renfield’s purpose. Presence of the supernatural is an element as well. Dracula is a vampire which is supernatural. The next element is a woman or women in distress.
Gothic horror was a common genre of use in the time Frankenstein was written. This was a time of great novels such as Dracula and Hound of the Baskervilles. Gothic horror is traditionally set in dark castles and countryside with eerie moaning music and bad weather Written in 1818 Frankenstein is the deeply disturbing tale of a monstrous unnamed creation that was created in the name of science. Huge and strong, the creature created by Victor Frankenstein kills and murders many throughout the tale, but considering his tragic beginnings I must ask, who is the real monster in this gothic tale of horror? Frankenstein is cleverly written in two parts.
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).
Matre1 Matt matre Lit form Mr. Hoerner 2-16-10 Bram’s Symbolic scenes In the book Dracula by Bram stoker, Many themes in the story represent a deep meaning, these themes usually reveal a major theme in the book, Bram uses many symbolic scenes that express deeper meanings, express an idea and clarify deeper meaning. One scene from the book Dracula by Bram stoker where symbolisms are used is when Lucy is sleepwalking in the night. When the ship crashes onshore and Dracula gets off. Lucy walks up to the seat that really is a grave, which is her favorite seat. Then Dracula finds her and bites her whereby he starts to drain her blood.
He leaves the ship and departs into the darkness. The ending of this story is very believeable because from reading the novel, you could tell that even though the monster killed all of Victor's family, and through all of the evil actions that the monster made were only to get his creator to love him through his hideous looks and love him even though everybody else wouldn't, and when Victor died, all of the monster's TRUE feelings came
Explore the ways Shelley uses setting to contribute to the gothic concept of the novel. Shelley uses setting as a vital contribution to the gothic concept of the novel; Mary said “The very room...he glassy lakes and the high Alps beyond”, would be the pivotal settings in her novel. Shelley knew from this stage that exterior and interior settings would be significant; interior “dark room” which refers to Victor’s laboratory of “filthy creation” in Chapter 4, an epitome of the gothic genre revealing a sense of darkness and seclusion mirroring the eponymous character Frankenstein. The idea of the lake and high Alps can be observed as being influenced by the Romantic poets, Percy and Wodsworth on nature being a restorative agent. Hence Shelley’s use of the exterior setting of the Arctic, which unravels the framework of the novel through epistolary form.